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The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, 80 miles north of Seattle, closed after the owners settled a $1.37m lawsuit for harassment and wage stealing.
Beleaguered foodie hotspot The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, 80 miles north of Seattle, has settled yet another lawsuit with disgruntled former employees.
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The island is idyllic. As a workplace, it's toxic 13 minutes to read By: Julia Moskin Globe-trotting diners flock to the Willows Inn's serene Northwest setting. But former employees say faked ingredients, sexual harassment and an abusive kitchen are the real story. The chef Blaine Wetzel first came to Lummi, a tiny island near the San Juan archipelago of Washington state, in 2010. At age 24, he was fresh off a two-year stint at the vaunted Copenhagen restaurant Noma. He could have found a job in any kitchen in the world. Instead, he'd answered an ad on Craigslist, posted by ...
April 27, 2021Updated 11:38 a.m. ET The chef Blaine Wetzel first came to Lummi, a tiny island in the San Juan archipelago of Washington State, in 2010. At age 24, he was fresh off a two-year stint at the vaunted Copenhagen restaurant Noma. He could have found a job in any kitchen in the world. Instead, heâd answered an ad on Craigslist, posted by a chicken farmer who owned a century-old inn on Lummi Island, 100 miles north of Seattle and reachable only by ferry. Sight unseen, Mr. Wetzel had fallen for the islandâs ravishing isolation â fewer than 1,000 people live there full-ti...
Willows Inn [Official Photo] New York Times expose, former employees from Lummi Island’s critically acclaimed Willows Inn accuse the restaurant of being, in short, a nightmare work environment. Among some of the most troubling claims in the article are that chef-owner Blaine Wetzel and the restaurant’s manager Reid Johnson oversaw a pattern of sexism, sexual harassment, and racist bullying at the Willows Inn, and that staff members allegedly preyed on teenaged girls from the island. The piece also claims that the carefully cultivated image of local sourcing was false, with items purchased...