BUFFALO, N.Y. — The sudden closure of a coffee shop this week in an up and coming part of Buffalo's West Side may have come as a shock to many, but not to employees according to a worker who spoke with 2 On Your Side.
Six years ago the Remedy House coffee shop was among first of several new businesses to open in the Five Points neighborhood, helping to lead a continued transformation of the area.
We stopped by the now shuttered shop on Thursday hoping to speak with the owners but found no one there. On a social media post, they said they were closing to "prepare the transition to new ownership."
However, a former employee says the place had been mismanaged to the point where the owners were no longer able to make payroll.
"For the last two weeks, most of our team had had bounced checks," said Daniel Gray, who had worked at the shop as a shift leader. "We had to call an end to it."
Gray was also among those involved in the organizing of a union for workers at Remedy House a year ago, something which the owners didn't stand in the way of.
While he understands that many might initially surmise the formation of the union might have led to increased costs for the business resulting in the owners being unable to pay the workers, he insists this was not the case.
"This was due to mismanagement," Gray said. "Ours was not a terribly demanding or expensive contract. It really didn't ask for a significant pay increase across the board, and we didn't have a lot of demands beside bringing things up to a basic standard, so I don't think our union contract is something to be afraid of."
For those reasons, according to Gray, the labor agreement should not be seen as prohibitive or dissuade anyone who wants reopen the place.
In the meantime, however, he and his colleagues are out of work.
When asked what their union is doing for them now, Gray said, "If we didn't have a union, we wouldn't have a whole lot of legal recourse or a lot of options for the money we are owed."
Put another way: He says if not for the union, he and and his former fellow employees would each be left to go at it alone to try and recapture any wages lost.
He says the union has been of assistance in helping, particularly with legal backing.
"And this is one of the benefits of having the union. We are able to hold them accountable for their finances," Gray said.
Gray told us he would return to his former job if the place re-opens, because he enjoyed the work, his co-workers, his customers, and the vibe of a neighborhood which has made a real comeback.