Managers leave as restaurateur refuses to quit in harass case

Over a weekend when hundreds of thousands of women across the country marched, Oakland’s piece of the #MeToo movement saw a walkout by top managers and a protest outside a popular restaurant where the owner is accused of serial harassment.

By Sunday, three managers and chefs had resigned from Charlie Hallowell’s restaurant Boot & Shoe Service after their demands that he divest from the company were not met. Angered by the way he and his company have handled allegations that Hallowell had been sexually harassing employees for years, they were part of a group of seven top managers who had threatened to resign if he didn’t divest from the restaurant.

“I feel pretty sad. I feel like I really had some measure of hope — maybe I was naive — that this was going to work,” said Emily Hayward, who resigned as general manager along with

pastry chef Jenny Raven and brunch manager Stephanie Chevalier. However, Hayward added, “I feel very confident in my decision. The lack of response really told me everything I needed to hear as far as my value.”

In addition to those resignations, Boot & Shoe Service chef Gregg Cashmark, sous chef Matt Fishman and cafe manager Greg Francis told The Chronicle they are planning to quit in the coming days. The restaurant’s assistant general manager could not be reached while on vacation, and top staff from Hallowell’s two other Oakland restaurants, Pizzaiolo and Penrose, did not join them in the action.

A Chronicle investigation published Dec. 27 detailed 17 women’s accusations of sexual harassment against Hallowell, who responded by removing himself from his company’s day-to-day operations while an outside attorney conducts an investigation. The employees alleged that Hallowell made sexual advances and subjected employees to a near-constant stream of sexually explicit language, creating a hostile and demeaning work environment.

Holding a cardboard sign that read, “I am not working today because … I stand in solidarity with all victims of sexual harassment,” Boot & Shoe Service host Georgia Staples was one of about a dozen restaurant staff members who called in sick to picket in front of the restaurant from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, partly in solidarity with the managers and also to recognize the Women’s Marches happening that day across the country.

“All I want is for him to step down from the company, to divest,” Staples told local CBS affiliate KPIX. When asked about the possible consequences, such as whether it could cost her a job, she responded, “I’ll find another one, but this is worth it, I think.”

Crisis consultant Larry Kamer, who was recently brought in as a spokesman for the restaurant group, said that the protest was peaceful and that the pickets would not lose their jobs as a result. Staff from the other restaurants were brought in during the protest, and he said the company is hiring people to fill jobs of departing employees.

“We know there are a number of people who feel strongly about this,” Kamer said.