Saison suit roils food scene — theft of secrets alleged
San Francisco’s modern restaurant scene is a transient place. Cooks regularly move from post to post, freely dropping their knives in one kitchen only to pick them up days later in another. Sommeliers shuffle into new environs to sip and suggest. It’s not uncommon for a chef to open a new restaurant clearly influenced by a recent place of employment.
Movement is part of the industry, but a legal battle involving one of San Francisco’s top restaurants may call into question the point at which valuable professional experience crosses into the realm of trade secret violations and unfair competition.
In a complaint filed with San Francisco Superior Court, SoMa’s Saison restaurant is accusing its former hospitality director, Matthew Mako, of defamation, unfair competition, violation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and a breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty, among other allegations. The restaurant is seeking damages in
excess of $500,000, according to the filing.
In the filings, Saison describes its menu, recipes and sales data as valuable assets that should be recognized as trade secrets. The confidential files are kept in what the restaurant calls “The Handbook” and employees are prohibited from disclosing the information without authorization from the restaurant.
Saison alleges Mako used his employment at the restaurant to help create the foundation for his own project. The complaint states that Mako signed and then violated an agreement “not to solicit any of Saison’s current or prospective customers, clients, vendors, suppliers, business partners, investors, employees, consultants, or independent contractors.” It alleges Mako made direct contact with the restaurant’s investors and customers to engage in “deceitful, wrongful, and unlawful acts to further his own economic gains and to harm Saison.”
Mako would not comment directly on the allegations. He described the most recent round of filings in the case as “frustrating” because he believed Saison had planned to drop the suit.
Such disputes within the restaurant industry happen more often than the public might think, said Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.
“People stealing people’s business plans is fairly common,” said Borden, who pointed out that nondisclosure agreements and trademarks are the best way to combat such potential problems.
But she added that many restaurants have overlapping attorneys, investors or even business templates. “There are some things that are formulaic about restaurants, that can easily translate from one place to another, that are not super unusual or unique.”
Saison, led by chef-partner Joshua Skenes, has gained global acclaim for its upscale tasting menu, which starts at $398 per person. It is one of three restaurants in San Francisco to hold the highest rating of three Michelin stars.
Mako was employed by Saison from October 2016 to April 2017. He is currently running RTB, a fine-dining pop-up restaurant at the former location of Mosu, on Fillmore Street, in partnership with chef Rodney Wages. RTB serves $89 tasting menus featuring intricate dishes such as poached oysters with charred onions and cauliflower, and tortellini with smoked foie gras and bacon broth.
Mako and Wages plan to open a permanent restaurant at the location later this year.
Mako previously worked at San Francisco’s other Michelin three-star restaurants, Benu and Quince, while Wages’ resume lists the likes of the French Laundry, Benu, Saison and Atelier Crenn. Wages is not named in the Saison lawsuit.
It’s not uncommon for restaurant workers and managers to change jobs on a regular basis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the turnover rate for the overall hospitality sector in 2016 was 72.9 percent year over year. Turnover is higher in the Bay Area’s restaurant industry, according to job-search website Instawork, which in July 2017 reported that the rates were 90 percent and above for kitchen staff and up to 80 percent for front-of-house employees.
Last month, the Saison team said the suit against Mako, originally filed in May, was being dissolved. Around the same time, Mako said, he was told by the restaurant the legal process would not be moving forward. Then, on Sept. 5, a more detailed complaint was filed by Saison against Mako in Superior Court.
On Sept. 12, a series of discovery requests was filed by Saison, including a five-page request for the production of documents associated with the suit, a two-page request for admissions about certain facts in the case, and a 21-page interrogatories request, which included written questions for Mako to answer.
A representative for the Saison team said that Mako, Skenes and their respective legal teams have been “working together” to resolve the situation, and that “both remain committed to getting this matter resolved.”
“I appreciated my time a lot at Saison. I felt I came there knowing a lot, and I had the opportunity to implement the things that I had learned,” said Mako. “It’s that small of a city. We share a lot of knowledge.” Chronicle staff writer Paolo Lucchesi
contributed reporting.