Treated like meat Sex harass suit against famed steakhouse
A former server says sexual harassment was on the menu at the famed Manhattan steakhouse Smith & Wollensky.
Brenna Gonzalez was an 18-year-old college student when she started at the Third Ave. restaurant in 2018. She soon realized the eatery’s oldschool atmosphere had a dark side, according to her lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court. Gonzalez says she was groped approximately three times per shift by staff or customers while working in the restaurant’s to-go section.
Managers or supervisors allegedly withheld her tips until she did a sexualized performance, such as pouring water on her white uniform.
A regular customer kissed her with no warning — and management told her to keep letting him do it, the suit says.
“Whenever Ms. Gonzalez endured egregious sexual harassment in her workplace, management looked the other way,” her lawyer Eric Baum said. “Ms. Gonzalez turned to management for help and they ignored her. The steakhouse Smith & Wollensky has shown no remorse and taken no disciplinary action against her aggressors that we are aware of, condoning a work environment in which Ms. Gonzalez feared for her safety. Instead, they forced Ms. Gonzalez out of the job she was relying on to help pay her way through college.”
Gonzalez’s allegations were brought to management’s attention months ago, a rep for the steakhouse said. “At that time, we investigated and found them to be completely without merit,” restaurant spokeswoman Allison Good said.
Smith & Wollensky, which opened in 1977 and is known for its prime rib, counts billionaire investor Warren Buffett among its famous regular customers. It is currently only offering delivery because of the coronavirus pandemic.
One colleague had a dismissive explanation for why
Gonzalez kept getting harassed, according to the suit.
“You look like a schoolgirl and it’s riling everyone up,” the colleague allegedly said.
A manager suggested Gonzalez drink alcohol or take drugs so she’d smile more often, the suit states. A creepy dishwasher at the restaurant even left Gonzalez a note saying he’d seen her on the 6 train, knew her stop and wanted to ride the subway with her, the suit claims. She complained to management that she felt unsafe, but management kept scheduling her shifts at the same time as the dishwasher, the suit says.
Gonzalez seeks unspecified damages for harassment and a hostile workplace, among other claims. She also seeks an order that the restaurant train employees on sexual harassment prevention and overhaul its policies on handling complaints.