Tough beef for waiters at Sparks
SPARKS STEAK HOUSE hasn’t seen a hit like this since Paul Castellano got whacked.
VIPs at the Midtown meatery were shocked Wednesday night when the union wait staff walked out all at once for the second time this week.
“The bartender said finish your drink, don’t worry about your tab and get out of here. It’s about to get ugly,” says big-time DBA talent agent Tony Burton, whose clients include comic Artie Lang and actor Ralph Macchio.
About 10 minutes after that warning, waiters and bartenders abandoned their posts, leaving those with 7 p.m. reservation high and dry.
“It was completely packed and thet bar was elbow to elbow,” says Burton, adding that staffers were very polite during the walkout, with one waiter explaining that contract disputes are at the root of the problem.
“We were worried it’d look like the Macy’s Day Parade — 600 people running out at once, trying to figure out where they were going to go for dinner,” said Burton, who moved his group’s holiday dinner up the street to a place he said “wasn’t as good.”
Diners last Friday found themselves in a similar situation. “It is what it is,” says a manager, who asked to be identified only as Walter.
An attorney for Sparks confirms some employees did walk out, but says talks “continue in good faith and we’re all trying to get to the end of the road.”