Former workers say Chef Steff's owes them
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Law Compliance is investigating at least one employee pay complaint at Chef Steff's Ristorante in the Pittsburgh Mills mall, which unexpectedly closed its doors on Dec. 1.
Several employees, who are out of jobs because of the closure, are complaining that they are still owed back pay. The incident adds to a list of problems plaguing the popular eatery including charges of liquor law violations filed state police in October.
The recent state investigation is based on a complaint focusing on wage and hours worked by an employee, according to Troy Thompson, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry in Harrisburg. He declined to provide more details.
But Dennis Jones of Apollo shared with the Valley News Dispatch the contents of the complaint that he filed with state Bureau of Labor Law Compliance on behalf of his son, Geoffrey Jones.
"My son is owed $540 by Chef Steff's for over a month now, with no idea if or when his paycheck will be forthcoming," Jones said. "Even more disturbing has been the ownership's lack of communication with their employees during this closure."
Earlier this month, Chef Stefano Tedeschi, the restaurant's namesake, told a Valley News Dispatch reporter that the closure was only temporary and that the eatery would re-open by Christmas. He blamed the restaurant closure on a financial disagreement with the Zamias family, which owns the Pittsburgh Mills mall.
The restaurant has not reopened.
Tedeschi, who has owned restaurants in Fox Chapel and starred in a cable TV show, did not return calls to the newspaper for this story. A representative of Zamias Services declined to comment.
Other Chef Steff's Ristorante employees are waiting for paychecks as well.
"They owe us a little over $1,100 total," said Bill Rudacille, 38, of Allegheny Township. A pantry chef, Rudacille and his two sons worked at Chef Steff's mall restaurant and have been unsuccessful collecting their wages.
"We were told that we would be mailed a check but it hasn't come," Rudacille said. "My last check bounced and I did get cash for it."
In the meantime, Rudacille has found work at another eatery at the mall.
Although the restaurant owes David Hynes, 21, of Freeport, only a "couple of hundred bucks," according to his records, it couldn't have been timed worse.
"It's a crappy time to close the restaurant and lose your job," he said.
Although Hynes said that he had problems with regular paychecks before, he really likes the people at the restaurant and had planned to put up with the job for awhile. A full-time student, Hynes said, "I just want to focus on finding a new job and getting back on my feet before school starts in January."
