Louisville Restaurants Forum

Patty is not related to the"Papa", she's from California. A couple of years ago my brother kept seeing the ads for cooks on craigslist. He went to 3 different interviews with 3 different managers. Each time, the previous manager was no longer wiyh Lynns. He lucked out though and didn't get hired! This stuffs been going on for years.

"I make my living off the Evening News
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry "

Don Henley

DanB wrote:"I make my living off the Evening News
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry "

Don Henley

This sounds as if you think this is nothing more than sour grapes on the part of previous employees. Actually I view it as shedding some light on some bad management practices. It's a wonder such info stayed in the private sector without making it into the media outlets before now.

Well it mostly relates to the little feeding frenzy going on. "People love it when you lose". A week ago she was "quirky" and "original" and helping "keep Louisville weird" and getting interviews in magazines. Now she's a loathsome ogre. I can't keep track of what all people are writing but it does seem there were plenty enough axes that wanted grinding.

DanB wrote:Well it mostly relates to the little feeding frenzy going on. "People love it when you lose". A week ago she was "quirky" and "original" and helping "keep Louisville weird" and getting interviews in magazines. Now she's a loathsome ogre. I can't keep track of what all people are writing but it does seem there were plenty enough axes that wanted grinding.

It's kind of like the Jerry Sandusky scandal on a much smaller scale. Everyone thought he was a great man and football coach who organized a charity for disadvantaged children while he was also helping to keep PSU football players in school.... until we found out what he was *really* doing. With Lynn, everyone thought she was a great community leader in helping the Louisville food scene get on the national map... until we found out how she was treating her employees.

Both of them will/have received their just deserts.

Doug Davis wrote:What could have been a simply remedied non-story, "Oops our bad. Upon further review and in talks with our awesome staff we have rescinded/changed/revoked our bank policy. It was a policy made in earnest to benefit all of our amazing hardworking staff, but wasnt as well though out as it should have been. Lynn's Paradise Cafe regrets the error and we look forward to continuing to be a part of the Louisville local scene for a long time to come!"

Has become a drama filled train wreck worthy of making popcorn and watching as it unfolds. This is why you hire a PR firm. .

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The whole thing could have been handled a little better from the Lynn's camp if the two statements that have been released to the public were a little less cryptic and more along the lines of something like Doug suggested. The statement that came out yesterday by Patty said that there were "four reasons" leading to the closure but none of them were expanded on.
Until the truth comes out from the powers that be,(which I highly doubt ever will) all we have is speculation and the stories from the people that were in the trenches at LPC.
Silence is not an admittance of guilt by any stretch of the means; But it's not real good defense either. Personally, I'm of the opinion that they have many other things they wish to keep from becoming public knowledge and from some of the tales coming out, for good reason.

meh.

it's no secret that the restaurant industry harbors cultures of tyranny and hostile work environments. I believe these are covered in varying degrees in both Kitchen Confidential (Bourdain) and Heat (Buford).

Such environments are exacerbated by personality defects (and flat out disorders) in the principle people as well as the more than occasional drug & alcohol problems. Pile on the fragile financial margins and sexism / ageism and it makes for a stinky brew.

I've personally experienced this, in another state, and examples can be seen on any number of food related television programs dedicated to saving failing businesses.

If I remember correctly there was someone who stood out on one of the Food network shows, Chopped perhaps, because they explicitly said they run their kitchen on collaboration and cooperation and not tyranny.

That LPCafe was in business for 2+ decades means that a lot of people passed through as employees. I probably only ate there 2-3 times and am not a Louisvillian and even I know that it was a difficult environment to work in. I bet most people reading this have way less than 6 degrees of separation to someone who worked there.

I think the situation would have been much the same even if there hadn't been that extensive, uh, biographical profile in the magazine the other month.

Dan Thomas wrote:To perhaps gain some insight, I just went back and read the Nov. edition of Louisville Magazine interview with Ms. Winters and came away with the conclusion that what ever passion she may have once had about running a successful foodservice operation had been replaced with contempt for her vendors and little thought about her staff. The article made her seem, well to be honest, kind of like a wing-nut.

I read this article too. If you are interested in this story as a whole, I think you should check it out.

http://loumag.epubxp.com/i/89420/62

She talks a lot about doing a "happiness test" for so many people. Funny how she never did that for her employees. This whole situation stinks and I just can't for the life of me understand how someone can think this is a "proper" way to run any business. You take care of those who take care of you. Crazy high turnover affects quality and quality should, in my opinion, be the number one priority.. UGH.

I worked at Lynn's when it was on Frankfort Ave. It was my first real restaurant gig. I washed dishes. It was an absolutely brutal experience as far as workload (I wrote a funny story about it in college). I never spoke to Lynn (or anyone really) but I always remember getting there at 7 am, the night prep crew would leave ALL their pots for me to scrub, and as soon as they opened a line was around the block (I NEVER caught up. Granted I was a kid and was goofy, slow, and only cared about beer and rock and roll but man, it was an onslaught I had never seen nor would I ever see again. Including the 800+ per nnight I used to serve in Key West at the Half Shell Raw Bar. But the food was awesome. I loved scarfing down fresh biscuits during my two minute breaks and drooling while watching big slabs of country ham sizzle on the flat top...). But you did the dishes solo and it was so insane. I refused to work an unplanned night shift, walked in the next Monday and they had left me off the schedule. I assumed I was fired. No one told me anything. It was one of the best feelings ever haha..

I hope there is a sliver lining in all this drama rama but sadly, I don't see it coming.

Adam C wrote:but I always remember getting there at 7 am, the night prep crew would leave ALL their pots for me to scrub,

Wait. The kitchen staff would leave dirty pots and dishes in the restaurant overnight for you to wash the next day? Holy lack of sanitation and out and out laziness Batman! Have rats and insects much? Did they at least bother to empty the trash bins or were they left too?

Wow. I just read the article in Louisville Magazine. She is a powerhouse individual and a very creative soul. I have no opinion on her business affairs. God knows I would not want to be in that line of fire. You have to admit though Ms. Winters is very different, and I have to say, entertaining.

RonnieD wrote:

Adam C wrote:but I always remember getting there at 7 am, the night prep crew would leave ALL their pots for me to scrub,

Wait. The kitchen staff would leave dirty pots and dishes in the restaurant overnight for you to wash the next day? Holy lack of sanitation and out and out laziness Batman! Have rats and insects much? Did they at least bother to empty the trash bins or were they left too?

Yes. ALL OF THEM. Right when you walked in, there was the STACK of stock pots and pans. You would get started then right away they opened for service and the buss tubs started filling up. There were eight of those. All full almost immediately. You had to empty them, clean them, put plates on the rack, run them through, then put them away. Go back to a pot. More bus tubs. I did this solo. I didn't last. It felt like they were pulling a prank on me haha..

Oh did I mention they wanted me to peel potatoes during this shit storm as well? It was a nightmare but one I think everyone should experience at least once if they want to work in this biz.

OMG Adam! I read this and flashed on Scarlett O'Hara whipping her horse until it dropped dead. And people wonder why unions have flourished. Jeez.

Let me clarify this by saying a) this post is not a direct shot at the (former) owner, and b) at the time, I was a terrible dishwasher.

Chaos like this is par for the course in my opinion (sort of) and you really should experience it at least once if you want to work in the food game. I remember laughing I was so overwhelmed. But I look back on it as a great learning experience. The noise, the chaos, shoving down the fresh biscuits with jam in the alley while freezing cold, realizing for the first time that there are women out there who could physically beat me to death... I didn't really know it then, but I loved it. I was in awe of the pantry people making all that bread from scratch in the middle of what seemed like a tornado and the line cooks slinging eggs with ease (as a kid in Georgia I idolized waffle house short order cook's ability to bang out all that food haha). I remember Lynn working the line and absolutely killing it. It was a good experience but one I did NOT protest when they let me go.

Bet Lynn has not worked that line in many moons - which usually part of the problem when quality goes down. We quit going when the food became "meh".

God knows I have attempted to stay off this mess, I will tell you this much: Dan Thomas is a former excellent chef of mine, uber talented with bordering flawless taste buds and an incredible work ethic. In short he is/ was a monster in the kitchen..nothing, repeat nothing ever needed any kind of seasoning adjustment. The many recipes of his own were most excellent, he is a very easy going guy and is a total team player. He had told me the same story to the word, sadly I believe every word. I too have come across many former staff who were left speechless given their treatment. Mostly management as Dan would have been had management wisely retained him. I am conflicted as I am very fond of Lynn personally, I helped her daily for 6 weeks to open the first location and the energy, drive and creativity she brought to the project back then was so different and fresh, very exciting.
What the hell went wrong? This is not the Lynn I knew, our business is incredibly stressful, certainly not making excuses for the obvious inexcusable..sad stuff all around, truly no winners here.
I hope that whomever takes over the operation has the good sense to not change much, this operation desperately needs a good cleaning in all areas, physical, mental, emotional, personel
And hopefully the brand that I remember, the original Lynn Winter..sans crazy erratic management nightmare riddled shit will survive and thrive.

Chef S. Dean Corbett
Chef/ owner
Corbetts" an American place"
Equus and Jack's lounge
36 years in!