After numerous sexual harassment allegations and wage theft lawsuits, the Willows Inn, a world-renowned restaurant and inn on a small island in the Pacific Northwest, has closed.
An April 2021 investigation by The New York Times found that workers of the Willows said they were victims of verbal and sexual harassment, forced to work 16 to 18 hours a day, and were bullied with sexist and racist language. The owners denied those allegations, but after the Times report, 137 employees filed a class action lawsuit against the restaurant alleging labor conditions, wage theft and wrongful termination; it was settled this year for $1.37 million. A previous lawsuit was settled in 2020 for $600,000 with the understanding that the plaintiffs would not speak or respond to members of the press.
Several former employees said the property’s owner, Tim McEvoy, told workers last week that the Willows would not reopen for the 2023 season and that the property would be donated to charity and likely sold.
On Monday, the Lighthouse Mission Ministries, a Christian social service for the homeless in nearby Bellingham, Washington, confirmed in a statement that the $2 million property was donated and that the organization will “evaluate best use and value.” for the buildings and grounds. “It is too soon to know if a potential new owner would want to operate the restaurant and hotel rooms in a similar way or do anything else,” the statement said. (The donation was reported Monday by The Seattle Times.)
The restaurant’s longtime chef, Blaine Wetzel, made The Willows famous upon his arrival in 2010. He came straight from his job at Noma, in Copenhagen, as a proponent of Chef René’s elegant, rustic, hyper-local cooking style Redzepi. Mr. Wetzel rose to stardom, winning awards and spots on global “best of” lists that drew diners and disciples to the Willows—a two-hour drive and ferry ride from Seattle—by claiming that the ingredients for his multi-course tasting menus were fished, caught or farmed on the idyllic island of Lummi.
The Times investigation revealed dark truths. Restaurant workers said Mr Wetzel’s behavior was abusive and erratic, that his language was obscene and at times racist, and that he prevented women from rising to top positions in the kitchen. Inn workers, including many young women living on the island, said they were pressured to drink alcohol, use illegal drugs and have sex with male kitchen workers and visiting chefs.
The Times also found that Mr. Wetzel not only routinely ordered food from mainland farms, but also sent workers to Costco, Target and other supermarkets for ingredients when supplies ran low.
While many employees immediately resigned and islanders protested, chanted and waved signs as they arrived at the inn, the restaurant remained open during the 2021 season and closed for the winter last December. Mr. Wetzel’s wife, executive chef Daniela Soto-Innes, assembled a new kitchen team for the 2022 season which began in March, but reservations fell through and the inn closed early, serving its last dinner the week before Thanksgiving .
The inn’s business entity, Freshore LLC, received federal payroll protection loans of $359,623 in 2020 and $270,309 in 2021, both now forgiven.
Neither Mr. McEvoy nor Mr. Wetzel responded to requests for confirmation or comment. (McEvoy Oil, Mr. McEvoy’s family business, was founded in 1932 and purchased in 2019 by Coleman Oil, one of the region’s largest fuel distributors.)
At a recent gastronomic conference in Mexico, Ms. Soto-Innes announced that she and Mr. Wetzel would open a restaurant and farm in Nayarit, north of Puerto Vallarta.
According to Toby Marshall, an attorney for the plaintiffs, the remaining individual lawsuits over wage theft and wrongful termination brought by three former employees had been “resolved to the mutual satisfaction of all parties” as of last month.
The lawsuits also named longtime Willows general manager Reid Johnson, who left this year for the posh Friday Harbor House, a popular destination on San Juan Island. That restaurant’s chef, Jason Aldous, who worked at The Willows from 2013 to 2015, was arrested in June and is facing multiple charges in connection with a sexual relationship with a female employee, a minor he and his wife had invited to live in their house.
The Willows was one of the main inspirations for the recent film ‘The Menu’, which explores the dark side of fine dining and the culture of celebrity chefs.
