A year after Tomo Sushi closed amid labor disputes and financial troubles, two more Asian restaurants on 116th are facing similar economic problems.
Both Ollie’s Noodle Shop and Vine Sushi and Sake filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, March 26, and documents show that Ollie’s, a chain with multiple city locations, is more than $3.7 million in debt.
Ollie’s owner Tsu Yue Wang agreed to pay a $2.3 million settlement in March 2009 to compensate over 800 workers for unpaid overtime and hourly wages well below legal limits. Now, that settlement may have driven the Chinese food purveyor over the financial edge.
The labor suit did not involve employees at the 116th Street restaurant, but workers at five other Ollie’s locations. The chain now only operates two other Ollie’s, one at Lincoln Center and one in Times Square, but the bankruptcy involves the corporation as a whole.
Next door to the 116th Ollie’s, Vine is also run by Wang, who is listed as an affiliated business partner, though records say Vine is officially owned by a corporation, Bu Yao Pa LLC.
Both restaurants filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, which typically allows businesses to reorganize to attempt to pay off debts—which both restaurants have in the millions.
Vine’s bankruptcy filing shows less than a quarter of a million dollars in assets and over $2.3 million in debts.
Ollie’s has over a half million dollars in assets but over $3.7 million in debts listed. In addition to the settlement money, Ollie’s owes almost $40,000 in taxes and hundreds of thousands to various vendors, which range from seafood suppliers, to exterminators, and health insurance companies.
Vine’s other debts range from $19,000 in taxes to bills for cleaning companies, produce deliveries and even a $900 Coca-Cola tab.
At both Ollie’s and Vine, employees and managers said they had not been informed of the bankruptcy proceedings and expected the restaurants to remain open.
Ollie’s manager Frank Chen said that he only hears about business decisions from Wang, who Chen said has only been to the 116th Street location two or three times.
“Mr. Wang is our only communication with other Ollie’s restaurant, and Mr. Wang hasn’t told us anything about it,” Chen said, referring to the bankruptcy. “Nobody has talked to me about it.”
He reaffirmed the Morningside Heights location was removed from the larger labor lawsuit. “The first Ollie’s restaurant was here. We’ve had no problems with employees here, only at other Ollie’s restaurants,” he added.
Ansom Lum, a manager at Vine who said he had only worked at the restaurant for a few months, said he had never heard of a lawsuit, anything about a bankruptcy, or even Wang’s name.
Representatives from the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, one of the advocacy groups that represented Ollie’s workers in the labor suit, said that the group was ready to act again.
“At this point in time, we can’t say that much, but workers are not going to give up,” CSWA staff member Tony Tsai said.
He said that the CSWA didn’t believe that Wang could be out of funds. “We know this is not true. He’s a billionaire, and there’s just no way. … That’s bogus,” he said.
The phone number listed for Wang on the bankruptcy documents led to the 42nd Street restaurant, and an employee said she had no other contact information.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy