Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Jardines Kansas City Jazz Club Closing then Opening

Last Friday local Kansas City jazz club Jardines closed it's doors and really got a lot of publicity from Fox News. They are running the story on every segment during the day's news broadcasts mostly featuring an interview from local Jazz celebrity Dave Stephens on the circumstances surrounding the closing of Jardine's in Kansas City. I suppose you could say that curiosity is the driving force behind the news coverage, as there is definitely an unsolved mystery afoot here. The sudden closing of the doors, the sudden firing of ALL of the employees, the cancellation of Dave Stephens show on Saturday, and then the note on the door that as of Monday morning read "Closed for repairs". The fact that Beena Johnson (Jardine's Owner) has not returned Fox News' phone calls probably feeds this media fire.

We do have an update today on the Jardine's situation:

A new sign has been hand written and placed on the door saying that they are hiring new staff and will reopen on December 14th. Rumors have surfaced that many of the former staff members have not received their pay and that they were owed back pay before they were let go. Former employees have now come forward and reported that they had been threatened, physically and mentally abused, and were repeatedly paid late, slowly, or not at all for their services. Currently, Jardine's is only taking information via email and according to the note on the door they are asking that new applicants go to the website to apply for a position. It's safe to say that they are currently screening their calls!

Rumors are also floating around that the owner is claiming that she fired the entire staff for theft. Well of course this is hard to swallow - how could all 15 employees who were fired be stealing? I don't think so. It would take a brave and desperate soul to apply for a job with Jardine's under it's current management, if the last week's events aren't warning enough. Jardine's will apparently open it's doors on December 14th and hope for the best. If you are one of the Kansas City jazz bands that is scheduled to perform there, we would suggest getting your money up front!

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11 comments:

Restaurant Industry Is Slimy Anyway So Who Cares said...

Another Jardine's employee has come forward named Stevie, he says that Beena called him on Thursday and fired him over the phone saying that "she can't trust him" and he's "not on her side" - whatever that means. What other side can there be? There's the owner of the bar, and then there's NOTHING - what the owner says, goes. Anyway, it seems that she owed him money as well as several other employees from credit card "negatives" that the owner was supposed to pay out.

None of this has been confirmed and is all here say so far.

Oh well, that's the restaurant business, it's slimy, everyone fucks each other, everyone is constantly gossiping, doing drugs, getting drunk after closing time - that's why I won't let my girlfriend work in the restaurant industry - it's a filthy clique oriented scum pit. Go find a real job.

Anonymous said...

WTF is the deal with slamming all restaurants and everyone who works in one?

Anonymous said...

Actually, the author is spot on - restaurants are scum pits for the most part. The employees are trying to hang on desperately to their 20's, binge drinking after the doors are closed, banging each other, managers and GMs who make a measly 50 grand a year or so acting like they are somebody to impress the 20 something year olds that they boss around. It's sick and pathetic, but hey, I'm glad their back there making my fries.

Anonymous said...

Well, I work in the restaurant industry and yes, we do drink sometimes, NO we are not "always banging each other", and I am NOT trying to hang onto my twenties. OH, and I also know the difference between the English words, "THEIR" and "THEY'RE".

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Oh, pardon me, I guess I meant to say thank you to YOU, comment at 5:10 for bringing me my food. Thank you, and can you honestly say that restaurant employees are not sleeping with each other? HA! Come on now, even you don't really believe that. And just for the record, I'm a great tipper :)

Anonymous said...

Just because you think you're job is better than someone who makes a living working in a restaurant sure doesn't make you a decent, respectful or intelligent individual. You sound like a selfish jerk to me. Feel sorry for your girlfriend, especially if you value her based on the job she holds. Talk about needing to grow up. And, by the way, I have personal knowledge of the situation at Jardine's, and I'd watch what I'm saying about it if I were you. Like most people with your mentality, you love to hear yourself speak and you really have no idea what you're talking about. The real issue is an owner who has repeatedly mistreated and failed to pay employees and is in some serious financial and legal trouble. Not everything is making it to the news!

Anonymous said...

Ha! I don't "THINK" my job is better, I KNOW my job is better. I make more than an entire restaurant full of employees salaries put together so suck on that. Also, restaurants are petri dishes for disease and employees do fuck each other, drink too much, AND do drugs. And no, you are NOT on the inside at Jardine's, I am. I know the exact story, all of those nasty employees were fucking each other, doing coke with Beena and drinking until the sun came up every night. Let's test your "inside" knowledge...did you know that Beena has a silent business owner and that she is about to be kicked out of there completely? Suck on that for awhile waiter boy, and fetch me some more bread while you're at it.

Anonymous said...

You're really funny. I'm a professional and an adult, not "waiter boy". I still maintain that salary does not indicate maturity, and certainly not the decency of a person. You are "point in case". I'm related to a former employee, and yes, I do know all about the silent partner and who exactly it is who's doing the drugs! Try again.

Anonymous said...

I have been traveling to Kansas City for a couple of years for work and stayed at the Holiday Inn up the street. I found myself at Jardine's many nights and from what I saw, the owner has a point. Not only did the bartenders (multiple, not just one) discount my bill at the end of the night in hopes of getting a larger tip, they routinely gave me free drinks. Often times when the bartenders were not working, they were on the other side of the bar drinking. My assumption was they didn't pay for their drinks as I saw them occasionally walk behind the bar and pour their own drinks. This owner sounds like a shady person for not paying her employees, but sounds like they took the liberty of paying themselves.

Anonymous said...

I miss Jardine's and the talent that performed there. This will be a birthday without Jardine's. I hate that it is closed.

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