After weeks of failing to pay their former workers unpaid wages, owners of now-shuttered Otium distributed checks over the weekend. But several workers say their last paycheck was short hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars. Maria Ramos Hernandez, a dishwasher at Otium, said the restaurant still owes her at least $2,000.
“This is unjust. I worked for them for seven years, washing dishes,” she said in Spanish. “I didn’t get paid for my vacation time.
I didn’t get paid for the last day I worked.” She wasn’t the only one. Two other workers also said their checks were short and they didn’t include the late penalties associated with the delay.
Otium distributed the checks days after workers picketed in front of the empty restaurant , demanding to be paid after weeks of going without their final checks. About a month before Otium closed on Sept. 8, the once-acclaimed restaurant announced on Instagram that it would close for good after nine years in business, stating that financial difficulties had led to the decision.
In 2015, Otium opened to much fanfare in an airy building in the Broad museum complex led by celebrity chef Timothy Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, who was Thomas Keller’s chef de cuisine at the French Laundry, co-owned the restaurant with Carl Schuster, a founding partner of Wolfgang Puck catering and CEO and founder of Cast Iron Partners. The restaurant opened with partners that included philanthropist Eli Broad and restaurant entrepreneur .