Zuni Café hit with suits over labor charges

San Francisco’s popular Zuni Café, which won a James Beard Award on Monday for offering the country’s most outstanding restaurant service, has been sued for alleged violations of labor law twice in the past 10 months.

In a lawsuit filed April 23 in San Francisco Superior Court, a former server complained of unpaid wages and overtime, failure to provide meal breaks and sick pay, and wrongful termination. The plaintiff, Gino Hadziomerovic, worked for Zuni for about 11 months during 2016 and is seeking $4,000 in damages. A trial date has not yet been set.

The accusations in the April complaint bear a strong resemblance to those in a July 2017 lawsuit against Zuni Café, in which eight former bussers and dishwashers claimed that the business failed to provide meal or rest breaks and also withheld vacation pay. The 2017 lawsuit was filed by several employees who spent more than a decade at the restaurant, including

Edgar Atoche, the lead plaintiff in the filing, who worked for the restaurant from 2002 to 2017.

Zuni Café owner Gilbert Pilgram did not respond to Chronicle inquiries, but in court filings responding to the suit, Zuni Café denied the 2017 claims.

In both filings, the employees are said to have worked at least five or six days at the restaurant each week, with shifts often longer than eight hours without a break. The state’s labor code and Industrial Wage Commission prohibit employers from allowing employees to work five or more hours without a lunch break of at least 30 minutes.

Hadziomerovic also claimed employees were required “to arrive and be present at the workplace thirty minutes before their shift started, and they were not paid for that time.

“Unless equitable relief is granted, plaintiffs and others similarly situated will continue to be subjected to (Zuni Café’s) illegal conduct,” the 2017 filing reads.

Since opening in 1979, Zuni Café has been a standout on the Bay Area dining scene, serving as a neighborhood restaurant whose famous roast chicken and simple California cuisine appeal to locals and visitors alike.

Over the decades, critical acclaim has been frequent, especially from the James Beard Foundation. In 2003, Zuni Café was named the best restaurant in the country and its former chef, the late Judy Rodgers, was named the nation’s top chef in 2004. Monday’s award for Outstanding Service is described by the Beard Foundation as honoring a restaurant that “demonstrates high standards of hospitality and service.”