Nothing is as it seems…
Flashing gimmicks and luxe aesthetics lure guests and prospective employees alike into the mystique of Marcel. The moment you ascend its speakeasy steps, you are suddenly enveloped in a romantic past, an homage to an era of abundance, feast, thrill, decadence. The servers in their dapper tuxedos, seemingly twirl around the restaurant. One tuxedo elegantly fillets a handsome fish before you, another lyrically slings a Caesar salad in the corner, while a third tuxedo, lingering in your peripheral, suddenly sets a meringue on fire. A tremendous amount of labor and an immense amount of scrutiny all play into the majesty of your celebratory experience. It’s “soigne.” Soigne (swan-yay) is literal French for “care.” Used as an adjective, to be soigne refers to the elegant art of caring: appearance, grace, disposition, integrity. At Marcel, “soigne” is a declaration, written into the tenants of the restaurant’s proposed “culture.”
Marcel is locally lauded as the best steakhouse in Atlanta. Teetering the line of trendy and timeless, of course, Atlanta, it's the place to see and be seen! With its sparkly all- too- proud mention in the Michelin Guide, Marcel purports to be the crème de la crème of Atlanta… in more ways than one. The theater the staff of Marcel painstakingly articulates comes at a sordid cost. So, it may be of interest to know what truths lurk beneath the facade of Marcel, beneath the surface of this soigne…
I am calling out the routine corruption, racial discrimination and labor abuses upheld by the management at Marcel and its company, Rocket Farm Restaurants- the corrupt underbelly of Restaurant Marcel’s theatrics. This corruption, this racism, this abuse, is masking itself as “soigne,” care, as culture. Management at Marcel participates and perpetuates a covert and gross exploitation of staff, a routine manipulation and discrimination of Black employees to keep them out of leadership positions and ultimately upholds a long history of overt inhumane abuses within the restaurant industry.
An unassuming hallmark of cultism begins with dictating language. Verbiage is powerful. It subconsciously sets a cognitive standard for what will henceforth be virtue signaling of proper behavior and fostering a hollow “family” culture. Marcel’s “cultism” begins at orientation, wherein Rocket Farm Restaurant’s training team manufactures an “emotional experience” to indoctrinate newly hired employees. It is admittedly a tactic adopted from the U.S. Military called “Serious Emotional Experience” (S.S.E.). Each employee during orientation is preached to about the magnanimous values of Rocket Farm Restaurants- a speech designed to emotionally manipulate new employees. At the end of orientation, each employee creates a “verbiage card”- a testament to the bizarre indoctrination.
A squalid answer to a family… Marcel, of Rocket Farm Restaurants, is an apathetic entity designed to exploit human labor…. It’s “family” until it comes to emotionally manipulating and exhausting skilled employees out of valuable time and wages. Wage theft. Time theft. Livelihood theft. Rather than a welcoming, supportive family, the staff that serves you is actually routinely abused by Marcel. And you, dear reader, are also privy to this abuse...
The Following is a call to action, a manifesto.
The following is a living collage of these notable inhumanities. The following is an opportunity to care for those who care for you, “to serve those who serve you.” This is a call for accountability and further discussion of ethics. It should be an intersectional discussion addressing corruption, labor abuses, racism and sexual harassment- experiences far too common at Marcel, Rocket Farm Restaurants and the restaurant industry as a whole.
Every single individual in a leadership position at Marcel is white. Many testimonies illustrate the consistent use of covert racism in an effort to keep black staff members out of management positions. A racist regime of management perpetuates a culture of covert racism targeted at Black staff members and Black guests. Most forms of discrimination take place non verbally; it is socially permissible racism.
Management at Marcel regularly baits Black employees with promises of promotions and higher leadership positions, only to backtrack at the last minute. This is a disgusting trend thrust upon every Black employee who has sought leadership opportunities at Marcel. Many Black staff members are verbally and regularly promised the chance of promotions, only to have the opportunity swiped from underneath them. If you don’t fit the stereotype, you will never succeed; any sense of diversity demonstrated by the company is blatant tokenism.
Management of Marcel regularly instigates issues with specifically Black staff members, constantly micromanaging and needling, and when these staff members simply speak up for themselves, they are called “aggressive” and are chastised for being a “bully.” The true bullying is the blanket use of “aggressive” in reference to a Black person who is just doing their job. This is an example of “tone policing.” Management of Marcel will mob and bully Black employees with negative write-ups, to ensure targeted Black employees are unable to pursue higher positions and in some cases, maintain their employment in spite of true work ethics and facts.
In these instances, all Black employees were manipulated out of free labor in pursuit of leadership roles. This is an overt and regular example of hiring discrimination. Per every collected account, every conversation in reference to gainful employment was strategically verbal- an inherently manipulative tactic as there is no ‘paper trail’ to validate promises. This subtle but clear commitment to keep all Black employees out of management positions —is an overt display of what is legally known as ‘fraudulent inducement’. In essence, this is the act of persuading someone into an agreement by intentionally making false promises, false statements and misrepresentation.
An incredibly talented Black lead line cook - whose labor was grossly exploited and abused - was promised a sous chef position over a year ago. “I was routinely lied to and misled about proper compensation- For over a year, Marcel had me working voraciously as their sous chef….Though I perform the duty immaculately and though I am integral to successful services, I was always mysteriously denied a promotion. Every time my promotion came up for discussion, [the General Manager] would always insist we “wait on it.” I was told to take more classes, and so I did. And then again it would be up for discussion, and again, I was told to “wait on it.” “Another new class from corporate you need to complete.” …But I was already doing the job. I was carrying the place. They just didn’t want to give me a title, or proper compensation because I’m Black.”
Host Captain, another impeccable Black employee pursuing a leadership position, had her promotion dangled in her face for nearly a year, as a White assistant manager made up new rules why she couldn’t grant her a promotion yet.
“A new position was opening up and at the time I was killing it. I asked for permission to interview and was told I could. Went to the interview, started off pretty strong, well placed answer, go direction towards expectations etc. Then all of a sudden questions got real intense, nearly impossible to answer. Not that serious maybe I still have more to learn than I thought. Later I found out that positions were already been decided on before I even got there and one of the people that got a position was told everything that would be asked in the interview. Which in itself was only an issue because for one I was only given the interview so I couldn't say I was discriminated against and two another person longstanding with the company who's still working there currently was given a position as well” …This employee continues, “I was told in a separate case that because of my "image" I would be looked at differently and everyone wouldn't "get" me. And the person who told me this understood me because he was the same as me and had to learn to change who he was because of it. The person who said this is now one of the VPs in the company”
“I have spent a year & four months at Marcel. My time here has been quite the roller coaster. There are many things that I enjoy about the job but more often than not, there are downsides that have hindered my success & promotion….I excel in my position as a SA. So much that front & back waits have fiercely advocated for my promotion. However, being that I’m in a negative threshold, it is unlikely that I will ever get the chance to take off the apron and put on the vest. I’ve had 4 negative write-ups & 1 positive. Every single negative write-up was given from the same manager. I’ve stated to HR already that I did feel this manager had a personal vendetta against me and is constantly micromanaging me in order to have a reason for a negative write-up. The lack of acknowledgment in the positive things I do at the job is bewildering to say the least. I put a lot of energy & effort into what I do. I would just like for that to be seen by management. I want to move up in the company, not out.”
“I didn’t feel included or respected as a manager/ Sous chef [because of] the color of my skin… I didn’t deserve to be treated the way I was treated.”
Mobbing Black employees: Many Black employees experienced “mobbing” in the hands of an all White management staff. Mobbing, an intense form of bullying, is a deliberate attempt to force someone out of the workplace by humiliation, degradation, harassment and conspiracy. Management at Marcel regularly fabricates daily notes, targeting specific Black individuals. Management at Marcel purposefully declines positive write ups for targeted Black individuals in pursuit of termination.
One particular European Assistant to the General Manager has a particular regular and notable “issue” with not only Black employees, but also Black guests:
And on the other side of this review: this particular White Assistant to the General Manager felt the need to insist that the servers “babysit” this particular Black guest because she was “scared of what he might do.” When the servers refused and were otherwise busy running their section, she hid in the corner of the restaurant and glared at him until his party paid and left.
Certainly, a singular incident can be explained away, but when there are so many testimonies all sharing the same sentiment - that overqualified and exceptional Black employees are baited with prospects of promotions and leadership… the covert racist and discriminatory trend is glaringly obvious.
Further, because of the Marcel’s choice trend of choosing and uplifting White mediocrity to fail upward, the restaurant service regularly suffers. As of the new year, meals are sent out of the kitchen cold, late and/or incomplete. Because the present leaders in charge of the kitchen gained their accolades on false and stolen meritocracy, unfortunately the kitchen is in a position where now no guest can receive prompt service- a trend on rise.
The all White management at Marcel is corrupt. The management at Marcel does not care whether the staff lives or dies - staff is often reminded that they are replaceable. The management at Marcel harbors a discriminatory and hostile work environment.
In early summer of 2023, there was a chilling shooting at Marcel’s neighboring sister restaurants: the incident began at Superica and ended at The Optimist. The entire block was on lockdown per the Atlanta Police Department. This lockdown included Marcel, as it is only just down the street from The Optimist and Superica. And while all of Marcel’s White management team had a meeting about it at the corporate office, not one single manager thought to inform the Back-of-House staff - all of whom were on their way or already in the building. No one was made aware of the shooting until after the fact. In fact, one manager only texted a handful of front of house workers, letting them know to come in a little later because of the lockdown. Many of Marcel’s Back-of-House employees rely on MARTA, public transportation, or their feet to get to work. Why were they not made aware of a life threatening situation? This is staff endangerment and rote neglect of humanity and compassion. To reiterate, Marcel’s Back-of-House employees are predominantly minorities while every single person in management at Marcel is White. The only ‘safety’ acknowledgement in the aftermath of those events was a pathetic addition of a handle to the exit of the kitchen door- a previously blocked exit (a haphazard amendment of a deliberate safety hazard). This particular shooting calls to mind a tragic incident that happened in late 2017, just across the street, at Barcelona Wine Bar- the murder of Chelsea Beller. From murmurs in the industry: Chelsea Beller had been regularly reaching out to her corporate management, asserting how unsafe the staff was at night because of the structure of the complex. Barcelona Wine Bar’s corporate correspondents regularly dismissed her concerns. This corporate neglect for humane safety is what ultimately led to her death.
Late 2023, in the event of the death of a staff member, though not on the job, management at this ‘family’ makes a mockery of sadness and grief: a Black steward at Marcel passed. He hadn’t shown up for work in about a week, though no one in management managed to reach out to him. A member of management callously laughed as she commented, ‘Yep, one day he was here, the next he wasn’t’.
A Latina hostess was made to limp around the restaurant on an injured foot- told by management that if she didn’t get a doctor’s note to stay home, she would receive a negative write up. So she came in to work because it was more expensive to get a Doctor’s note than to miss a shift.
White female Sous “Chef” regularly micromanages employees, drunk with the illusion of power, she regularly acts out in retribution to employees who ask simply and calmly her to stop micromanaging. This behavior is what is referred to as authoritative abuse.
White female Sous “Chef” regularly weaponizes scheduling, denying employees scheduled doctor’s appointments.
Corporate leaders and Managers regularly have friends come in for gifted (free) meals and staff dutifully provides outstanding service, but the generosity is never extended to staff who would like to come in for the experience, often only extended a 20% discount, and management will ensure no gifts hit the table.
Sexual harassment and assault is normalized and perpetuated by management staff. This is actually not the first generation of management at Marcel that notoriously participated in sexual assault. (Moises Posada- Lozano is a former member of management at Marcel)
One evening, during a busy service, a POC server was sexually assaulted in the walk-in fridge. Upon learning this, management members expressed that she was “interrupting service” with her account of sexual assault and was further shamed and chastised over an event that she should not have ever encountered initially. I’d like to compare this situation to another incident, in which a White server was sexually harassed. This instance was immediately dealt with and rectified. Why was the White server worth protecting and not the POC server?
The General Manager would regularly sexually harass and assault employees. He would expose himself in the bathroom and in the parking lot and if he threatened them with their employment if they ever spoke up, another disgusting example of sexual assault and retributive punishment.
Assistant to the General Manager regularly stalks and entraps the male sous chef. She finds his truck every day in the storied parking lot of Westside Provisions and ensures she parks right next to his truck every day. She regularly neglects her actual duties to watch him through the camera. Innocent enough, maybe, until she shockingly grabbed the back of his neck (caught by that same camera) suddenly turning a more playful situation into violence. Further, were the genders reversed, this would be immediately addressed, but because she is a white woman, it is ignored. It is ultimately a running joke among the staff, which is not only a testament to the frequency of her stalking but also reveals the severe lack of gender intersectionality displayed in conversations about sexual assault.
Black lead line cook was told habitually to “suck [the general manager’s] dick” in order to garner her overdue promotion. She was told by members in management that, “that is just what you have to do here… “drink the Kool-aid”... read: pander tirelessly to a corrupt and racist leader.
The White female Sous “Chef” stole a recipe from a former Latina coworker: The sous “chef” in question asked the Latina coworker to show her how to make the recipe and the very next day, she presented it as her own, usurping a promotion in question. It is apparent she is unqualified for the job. Rocket Farm Restaurants shuffles her around restaurants, playing hot potatoes with her white mediocrity (ask about her secret pro tip to lasagne.).
White female Sous “Chef” cornered and offered to take an employee to a popular nude spa, saying she “used to do it all the time with [her] former employees.”
Then there is the issue of inadequate pay, and the suppression of any discussion of pay.
“Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have the right to communicate with their coworkers about their wages, as well as with labor organizations, worker centers, the media, and the public. Wages are a vital term and condition of employment, and discussions of wages are often preliminary to organizing or other actions for mutual aid or protection.” The explicit statement made by Marcel’s management- to not discuss wages- is illegal, plain and simple. Staff are told not to discuss pay between the servers themselves (as some servers are ‘grandfathered’ into a mysteriously higher wage of $5/hr- nevertheless, an insulting wage), and servers are told not to discuss what they make in tips, so as to “not make the Back-of-House employees feel bad.” Is it the servers’ tips that make Back-of-House employees “feel bad,” or is it the rote neglect by Rocket Farm Restaurants to pay skilled employees what they are worth that is making them “feel bad?”
For perspective, Marcel grosses up to $10 million a year. Rocket Farm has many restaurants around the city, and the company continues to expand nationwide. A company that values its employees, that claims to have a culture of care, and that is highly successful in a prosperous food scene has no justification for grossly underpaying disenfranchised employees, people who walk to work, who have holes in their shoes, who are unhoused, who are just trying to support themselves.
Management of Marcel made staff members draw straws to see who would go home - forcing someone to give up a shift for which management intentionally overstaffed. Management purposefully overstaffs, “floods” the floor because they feel the servers “make too much.” Yet, servers are only paid $2.13/hr by the company, with guests actually footing the bill for the labor. Moreso, server’s tips are then used to actually fund the wages of the rest of the Front of House employees. Why is it okay to justify $2.13/hr wages and to thrust the responsibility of our salary unto our guests? The only entity this seems to benefit, is the Marcel and Rocket Farm Restaurants. Marcel abuses the staff’s labor and the guests are paying extra for it. The presented wage of $2.13/hour, this theft of labor, time and wages of servers (and guests alike), was established legally in 1966, 58 years ago, though, as with many structures in America, also has deeply racist roots.
Spammy employment ads bait prospective BOH (Back-of-House) and hourly employees with promises of up to $24/hr, purposefully. The baiting ads promise that of an almost livable wage (if you can ignore inflation), but upon hiring, this is never the wage that is offered to newly acquired back of house employees. The proposed $24/hr is actually an artificial wage cap enforced by the company.
“It is absurd and unjust that people working in the kitchens and dining rooms of some of the finest restaurants in the world can barely afford their own food and rent” - Celebrity Chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park
On top of insulting wages, servers are made to participate in humiliating line-ups, which are short meetings between the managers and servers, usually to discuss the goings-on of the upcoming evening. But, at line-ups at Marcel, servers are made to participate in demeaning and humiliating games, none of which have any relevance service. One server was unceremoniously outed as gay during a line-up. Another server was humiliated and discriminated against by management for their religion during line-up.
Everyday during line-up, the service staff is challenged with the question, ‘What does it take to create the standard of a Michelin Guide Restaurant.’ Perhaps a more poignant question to ask during line-up, ‘What are the standards of care and equity expected of a restaurant pursuing the Michelin Guide?’
Employees attempt to eat doughnuts tied to strings with no hands. This is sexual harassment.
Marcel’s work environment is not welcoming or hospitable. It is dangerous and unsafe.
The hood vent constantly breaks and smokes out the kitchen employees, regularly suffocating the employees with carbon monoxide. Management at Marcel is alarmingly cavalier about this blatant safety hazard. The air conditioning also constantly breaks, which is dangerous when working over 400 degree ovens and stoves. The air conditioning went out in the height of an Atlanta summer 2023 and instead of shutting down the restaurant, which would have been the humane action to take, the back of house employees were offered “positive write ups' '- the Rocket Farm equivalent to a gold star- at the end of an inhumane, dangerous and unnecessarily grueling shift
Chemicals are kept in a closet that is shared with employee belongings and back up wine. The wine is temperature controlled, the chemicals are not. This is a chemical hazard. Further, guests should be uncomfortable about the proximity of their expensive wine to the mismanaged chemicals.
During 12+ hour shifts, employees are not allowed breaks to eat or sit. They are given loathsome ‘family’ meals - usually a bizarre gruel or uncooked lasagne. The staff creates and serves well over 300 meals a day, yet the staff is chastised for sneaking a bite over a trash can, yet the White management at Marcel always eats at the Expo’s pass. One server was told he can “eat in the chemical closet.”
Family Meal
The White Assistant to the General Manager eats at the Expo’s pass- in spite of Marcel’s Chef’s purported safety standards.
White female Sous “Chef” eats at her work station, next to the Expo’s pass, in spite of Marcel’s Chef’s purported safety standard.
If staff members do want to sneak a quick bite, they have to go outside, no matter the weather. At the staff entrance, there are rusted and slippery metal steps.
A Black server eats her sandwich standing outside in the drizzle. Below: The employee entrance: slippery and rusted steps with holes
And safety isn’t just an issue for staff, but also for guests, with food safety being ignored.
Caesar a la minute… Did you know those Caesar salads could kill you? Besides the definitive cross contamination - a blatant disregard for allergies - raw eggs, a major carrier of salmonella, are kept above the other unrefrigerated ingredients. These ingredients are left out for 10 hours and then put back into a container with unused ingredients, to be used for the next day. Then, the receptacles are only sometimes merely rinsed, only oxidizing the silver receptacles. Sometimes, the anchovies turn green. Per health code regulations (and common sense), this abuses proper and safe food storage. That, despite regular objections from servers, management insists that this is okay. If Marcel is made aware that the health inspector is coming, management has the staff take it down. If the Caesar station can not and does not meet the health inspector’s standards, why is it okay to serve it, as is, to the guests?
The ceiling is constantly dripping onto the line. This means that mysterious ceiling water is dripping onto your $300 meals. It is also dripping into your coffees and your iced tea. It also floods the floor regularly, disregarding the safety of the servers who bring you your food.
Below: Rags attempting to catch run off from a leaking ceiling, directly over the line- where the food is cooked; the floor flooding'; ceiling water leaking into coffee and uncovered tea urns; unrefrigerated and raw eggs kept above ready-to-eat items.
Now, dear reader, You are probably wondering, well why didn't you handle this privately?
We did. We tried. We even created a petition, with many staff signatures, that was ignored. Sometimes, we were met with appeasements meant to pacify dire concerns, but more often, we were met with deliberate apathy. Human Resources, ‘H.R.’, is an entity that eludes its origins. ‘Corporate Protections’, albeit clumsy, would at least be sincere. Human Resources, another group of predominately White employees at Rocket Farm Restaurants, is colloquially known to only protect the company. Human Resources would prefer these issues were handled silently and compliantly and therein lies our core issue- racism, corruption, abuse all transcend the confines of private discussion. Racism, corruption and abuse flourish in secrecy- as so evidenced. Moreover, to pursue the avenues of redemption granted by a system that is designed to protect the abuse and protect the abusers is a fruitless and sisyphaen feat; it’s rigged.
An anonymous review from early 2024, citing racism and discrimination at Rocket Farm Restaurant’s corporate office.
Marcel’s only accurate nod to a 1940’s throwback is the perpetuated racism, the sexual harassment, the corruption, the labor abuses and the meager wages. What does it say about a Michelin Guide restaurant that would rather invest in White mediocrity and leather seats than invaluable Black employees? Than the safety of their employees? Than the safety of the meals that are served to you?
To Ford Fry: Our labor built your crown. Human lives are irreplaceable- this wanton threat, that service workers are disposable is fallacious and morally reprehensible. Marcel is nothing without its people. Marcel is nothing without its integrity. Marcel is nothing without its humanity. Shame on you and your team for your rote complicity and willing ignorance. A walking example of weaponized incompetence, of weaponized Whiteness, it is your duty as a citizen to do better, to “be excellent.”
To Atlanta: Atlanta is a proud Black city. Let’s set the standard for true intersectionality. Atlanta is a proud food city. You will go out to eat forever. The restaurant industry deeply permeates our unique Atlantan culture; it’s unifying experience for all socioeconomic classes- the restaurant industry is truly the heart of the economy. It is these humans that celebrate you, that serve you, that cook for you, that wash your dishes and fold your linens… Every iota of love and care, every instance of soigne brought to your impeccable dining experience was manufactured by humans.
To my peers in the industry: Just because abuse is overwhelmingly prevalent and normalized within our industry, just because it has always been done this way… doesn’t mean it has to stay like this. It only ‘is what it is’ because we let it be. History and “tradition” need not justify the inhumanity in our community. It is particularly notable that the restaurant industry in particular severely lacks accountability of human rights in the form of a worker’s union. The industry notoriously and inhumanely exploits its workers and feigns innocence.
For an entity as integral as the restaurant industry to the fabric of society, is there potential for proper ethical integrity?
I invite discussion below; let’s talk about it.
