YPSILANTI, Mich. – Bobcat Bonnie’s in Ypsilanti will not be reopening.
Originally, the store was believed to have been only temporarily closed while the owner looked into several recent complaints workers at the location have made.
Employees told Local 4 they just wanted to return to work, but they found out that would never happen.
They now plan to picket at the Ferndale location starting Oct. 17.
“We originally didn’t really want to have to escalate to a picket or anything,” said one employee, not wanting to be named. “We just wanted to have a conversation about our grievances and demands and hope to get those resolved.”
Some employees say they haven’t received a consistent paycheck for a minute now.
“It’s been really frustrating,” said another employee. “I’ve had auto problems that I haven’t been able to cover because of the paychecks bouncing. I’ve had vet bills that I haven’t been able to pay.”
“A lot of us are at a point where we’re having to make arrangements with bill collectors saying I will absolutely pay you on this day, and we expect to have that money,” said employee Kyle Ciolino. “Our bill collectors don’t get it, and they don’t care if the checks bounce or not.”
A PR spokesperson with Bobcat Bonnie’s says the claims about bounced checks are totally false. But the problems don’t stop with the money. Workers say they came together to resolve a plethora of issues.
“We delivered a petition to our corporate office on Oct. 7 asking for better working conditions, including better payroll practices, better training for management and a stop to inappropriate behavior between management and staff, and more consistent scheduling, and the only response we received is Matt Buskard closing our location,” the anonymous reporter added.
“Bobcat Bonnie’s takes staff complaints seriously. On October 7, a handful of Ypsilanti staff members came to the corporate office with complaints and demands about working conditions in a written statement. We spoke immediately with the individuals to address the issues. We brought in an employment attorney because we wanted to take the allegations seriously. We reached out to these staff members again to investigate the claims further and have been rebuffed twice.
“It is incredibly hurtful to see negative commentary because we have always taken great pride in our place in the community. We are open to suggestions and changes in this ever evolving restaurant industry. Bobcat Bonnie’s will always be committed to being a place folks can take pride in working, in an environment that celebrates them and to address any issue quickly and competently.
“We will not be reopening the Ypsilanti location. Like many small restaurants, we are shrinking our footprint so we can be more focused on our other locations throughout Michigan.”
Bobcat Bonnie's