Cafe Gratitude Hangs On For Dear Life

Although Cafe Gratitude owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart dramatically announced that they would be closing all seven of their Northern California outposts this year, some recent developments show that probably isn't the case. To begin with, the Engelharts have been putting concerted efforts toward raising money for their legal defense in potentially deadly cases of illegal tip pooling and other questionable employment practices. Now the plaintiffs' attorney tells The Bay Citizen that "the matter has been settled," and Matthew Engelhart says some NorCal locations will stay open.

In any event, they've got a post up on Craigslist SF that says they're hiring, and the Facebook says they're looking for a chef at the Berkeley branch. Meanwhile the branch in Cupertino has closed, the one in San Raphael is open while its for sale, but the branch in the Mission on Harrison Street is open today even though it was closed on Friday during regular business hours. So maybe this whole lawsuit hullabaloo was just an excuse to close unprofitable branches? Let us know what's happening at the Cafe Gratitude near you in the comments or over the EaterWire. Oh and just so you know, Cafe Gratitude is still accepting donations.

· Cafe Gratitude's Legal Woes 'Resolved' [Bay Citizen]
· All Cafe Gratitude Coverage [~ESF~]

[Photo: KQED]