The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lystra Adams has announced that she's 'walked away' from the Boujee restaurant chain. The reality star was one of the directors and 'the face' of the all-pink restaurants and bar based on Manchester's Bridge Street, as well as Carnival, its Caribbean and Latino-inspired pop-up on the restaurant terrace.
Boujee also has a restaurant in Chester and was based at Liverpool One until signs went up to say the city's 'most instagrammable' restaurant had closed for business in August. Announcing her decision on Instagram Lystra, who joined the ITVBe reality show The Real Housewives in 2020, told followers 'I'm walking away' while speaking of 'abuse' she and model daughter Jasmine have received as the 'face' of the restaurants.
She wrote: "I'm walking away ... As of yesterday 23/09/2022 I walked away from what I've know and loved for past near two years. As many of you may know I have given considerable time and dedication in building the brand and platform for myself.
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"Over the past eight months things had taken a bumpy turn. I had confidence in that the board of directors would turn it around. Unfortunately mistakes were made along the way [...] and it made the comeback near impossible."
She continued: "As a 20-per-cent shareholder and the face of the business I want you to know that I did what I could with what I had. [...] I've made my voice heard more than before as I dreaded this day would come. I've taken abuse in all forms for being the face of the companies involved as well as my daughter and enough is enough.
"Sorry it's taken so long to speak out and I want to thank each and everyone that has visited or worked for Boujee and carnival from opening until now. All my love, Lystra."
In August it was reported that the Liverpool branch, which opened in December, had closed. Signs were posted outside the Liverpool One site, announcing that 'Boujee is closed for business... through no fault of Liverpool One.'
Previously, issues have been reported at Liverpool's Boujee, and in Manchester. Boujee said it was 'confident' that it could resume business, but Boujee's Instagram page no longer lists Liverpool as one of its sites, with only Manchester and Chester remaining.
In July we reported that staff 'walked out' after not being paid their full wages as the business was struggling with cashflow problems. Some staff members said they had received just 40 per cent of their pay on a recent pay date.
Others said they had not been paid their full service charges and some had walked out of shifts over the problems. At the time, a spokesperson for the company said it had experienced "unexpected costs" which created temporary cash flow constraints for the business.
The pink-themed Manchester venue, where champagne ranges from £90 to £750 a bottle, made headlines since opening in May 2021 following a brawl between customers, a one-star food hygiene rating, and most recently over unpaid wages. Bosses said the business had been experiencing because of 'increasing costs' such as food and utility bills.
But some staff claim the problems with service charge date back as far as last summer, with one former employee claiming they only found out they were owed tips after reading an article in the M.E.N. Although the restaurant had seen its hygiene rating increase to five stars, the chain admitted that staff were continuing to 'walk out' - creating rota issues and long hours for remaining employees.
One former staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said he quit his front of house job after just two months, following claims he regularly had to work well over his rota'd hours. He also claimed he had fallen into credit card arrears after only receiving a fraction of his pay packet in June - meaning he couldn't keep up with all of his direct debits.
Speaking to the M.E.N, he said: "At first the environment was friendly and welcoming but soon after it felt like it wasn't properly managed. I had no formal training and no health and safety guide - just the fire exits pointed out to me.
"When I started working they just gave me a sheet of paper explaining what I needed to do. I had to speak to other more experienced staff to learn what to do."
Responding to the claims, a spokesperson for Boujee said all staff members go through online training via the 'Flow Hospitality' portal and are given training modules to complete relating to their job specification.
The employee said he eventually quit his job after claims he was constantly 'messed around' and had to work hours after his shift was due to finish. "We would work our eight hours and were supposed to be closing at 12am and then the manager would just tell us they'd decided to open until 1am or 2am," he said. "We never knew when we were going to finish."
A Boujee spokesperson accepted that staff were expected to work long hours, particularly on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, adding: "that is what happens in the hospitality industry." Another ex-employee, who asked not to be named, said she started working for the restaurant shortly after it opened last summer, but quickly found she was unable to keep up with the long hours and claims she was frequently expected to work over her shift.
"All of a sudden the shifts started becoming very long and I was working 13 hour days with a 30-minute break," she said. "We would be working from 5pm until 4am the next morning and then we'd be back the next day with little time to rest.
"I was working seven days a week and had to argue to get a day off. Once I requested one or two days off because I wasn't feeling great and the manager just threatened to sack me. The final straw for me was when I was rota'd down to work 11am to 6pm but by the time I got into work someone had changed me to a night shift which meant I was down to work a double shift. That's when I quit."
A spokesperson for Boujee accepted that last-minute rota changes had to be made, due to staff 'walking out' of work. They added that staff were able to say no to shifts if they weren't able to work them and were 'always' given a 12-hour rest period between shifts.
“We employ a lot of young people," they said. "Of course it is long hours - that is what happens in this industry. If people walk out as they have done that means we do have to change the rota at the last minute, but everyone can speak to a manager and say if they can’t work."
The former staff member who complained of long hours also claims she was underpaid and said she wasn't aware she should have been paid service charges until she read an article in the Manchester Evening News . "I never got any tips and didn't even know about them until I saw the article. I worked there for three months and I don't think I was ever paid the right amount," she said.
A Boujee spokesperson accepted that there had been 'service charge issues' and that they would be correcting the payments to ensure staff members who are owed money are repaid.
The venue, which opened inside the former historic Freemasons Hall, serves sushi and small plates and features an array of bar and dining spaces, including an entire champagne room and selfie room complete with pink 'private jet' and Barbie and Ken boxes.
In August last year it was given a one-star food hygiene and told it required 'major improvement.' Boujee management said at the time the rating was 'due to a facilities issue' and requested a 're-visit and rescore.'
Inspectors who visited the premises in March this year gave the venue an improved food hygiene rating of five. They rated food handling 'very good' and cleanliness and food safety were rated at 'good.'
Police had to be called to the Bridge Street restaurant last year after a terrifying brawl broke out between two men. Female customers could be heard screaming and champagne glasses could be seen thrown across the room in video footage captured and sent to the M.E.N. The Manchester Evening News has contacted Boujee for comment.
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