Gonpachi Staff Walks, Mother's Day Weekend a "Catastrophe"
Monday, May 14, 2007

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From reader AR

Gonpachi, the Japanese mega-restaurant that finally opened in March, is having a rough start. The project has been shrouded in drama from the beginning---it took nearly three years to build and had many many permit issues with the city of Bev Hills---but the real drama is just beginning. From the weekend inbox: "I just heard from Lawry's servers about Gonpachi. COO of the company has given 2 week notice, executive chef was fired, GM, AGM, sous chef, bar manager and assistant manager has walked off the job on Thursday. It seems like there is only one manager left from Japan at the restaurant." Second confirmation just came in today:

Nile Park (COO of Global Dining, the US end of the Japanese company that owns Gonpachi, Monsoon, and Café La Boheme) has given notice.

Yukio Saka, the executive chef, fired by Kozo [Hasegawa], CEO of Global Dining.

GM, Asst. GM, Bar Manager, Sous-chef (and acting exec) all walked out last Thursday.

Mother's Day weekend, in the words of one employee, was the "worst catastrophe I'd ever seen in all my years in the business."

We don't know the circumstances yet, but this is one seriously developing story. Stay tuned.
· The Dish: Gonpachi Just Like Japan [~ELA~]
· Breaking: Gonpachi Opens Softly [~ELA~]

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