Chef LeRoy Crowdfunding [General]

2015 Sep 8
Hey all,

Saw this on detroitsoulfood's twitter. Here is the link to the video for those interested. Not gonna lie, I'm a little discouraged by the idea of crowd funding after seeing what happened with Zen Kitchen, but I thought it might be of interest to some.

www.indiegogo.com

2015 Sep 8
In the past 7 years this guy has had two restaurants and a food truck that have all failed. Not sure what makes him think this time will be different...

2015 Sep 8
My take - He is a good cook who cooks food with his heart and soul. But he is not a business man. He needs someone who will actively run the business part. Including hours, training staff and food costs etc. And let him cook. Note: I said cook, not run the kitchen. You can't randomly decide not to open your restaurant or cook that day. You have to have more than one person in your restaurant.

2015 Sep 8
Pfft, whatever. Really hope no one falls for this.

2015 Sep 8
I kind of want this to succeed just to hear how this next failure can somehow be blamed on divorce. I kind of want this to not succeed so maybe he can sort his shit out and eventually open a solid, solvent joint.

2015 Sep 9
This is somewhat neat,but it also seems to be the in thing to crowdfund new restaurants,people's trips.school,birthday party....well life in general.

I even just read earlier about one of the farmer's at lansdowne looking to crowd-fund her farm,so she does not go out of business.
This is for the Yak farmer...

2015 Sep 9
Still waiting for my indiegogo rewards from Gongfu bao from April 2013 (2 bao and 2 sides).

Crowdfunding food businesses has really left a bitter taste in my mouth. (How did I manage to be the first person to say this?)

2015 Sep 9
The guy needs to learn how to cook. Basics like seasoning collards and chicken are not things a good cook ignores. When he was out in Hallville his wife did most of the cooking and it was great. Then he moved to town and spent more time partying with his friends upstairs and neglecting his restaurant. One time when visiting his second place I sent a dish back and it took 40 minutes for him to heat up his oil to do it properly. Heck when we went into his last endeavour he tried to tell me chicken tenders were the same as actual fried chicken pieces. I left the flavourless chicken tenders bunt corn pancakes and mushy mac and cheese on the table. Not going to visit another one of his restaurants I'll go to Popeyes instead for half the price and get a better meal.The guy is just lazy.

2015 Sep 9
We went to his Hallville location and two of his other places in Otawa. Hallville wasn't bad, but the food we had at the Ottawa locations took forever to order, and to receive. And what we got was not worth the wait.

2015 Sep 9
I can agree with all of this however I loved his fried chicken. His ribs (slow cooked in apple juice, drenched in a bottle of no-name BBQ sauce that he had behind the counter) were easily the worst I've ever had. Going to need to find a new spot for some fried chicken..

2015 Sep 9
Best waffles I've had anywhere were at DSF... the fried chicken was top notch too. And LeRoy is a friendly guy who brings a lot to Ottawa's food scene.

I'm not personally interested in donating cash to keep restaurants alive, but I'm more than happy to patronize and promote the ones I like! I sincerely hope to see LeRoy's food on a local menu again soon.
:-)

2015 Sep 15
I feel for Leroy but I don't know if this is the best idea, after 2 Jean Alberts, one Leroys, a food truck & finally DSF, maybe it's time to use his skills in someone else's kitchen...solid income for a few years, Leroy's still a young man, patience can be rewarding...

2015 Sep 16
It's also a bit of a scam that one can keep the money if they don't reach their target. Nobody's opening up a restaurant with $600, it's almost like robbing people.

2015 Sep 21
The latest developments via Twitter: twitter.com

To summarize my own--quite possibly wrong--interpretation of that conversation, it seems like 10fourteen are considering working with LeRoy. I love the atmosphere and drinks at 10fourteen, and they would totally benefit from having a food-based draw like LeRoy there. Exciting possibility!!

2015 Sep 21
I think that would be a positive move for both...

2015 Sep 30
Looks like the campaign is over and didn't go as planned:

"It was a nice attempt to live out a dream....@ 4% Not even close to what I needed. Now I'm tired of fighting the good fight. Thanks for all the support FAM. See y'all next time. All perks will be honored. I just gotta find a kitchen to use. 1% of my regular clientele contributed and I still get 3 calls a day for takeout or delivery from new customers for Detroit Soul Food Canada. I really don't know how to get over this. But I will. ‪#‎pioneer‬

Peace.....until we meet again."

2015 Oct 2
I'm so confused...

2015 Oct 3
Business are not charities, and vice versa. I will always support good restaurants like LeRoy's with my business but I'd never contribute to a fundraising campaign like this. I wish him well and really hope to be able to buy his food somewhere in the future!

2015 Oct 7
Here's the deal on his 10fourteen collaboration: www.facebook.com

This is a much better way to raise funds IMO.

2015 Oct 7
Thanks for sharing! A little out of my price range ($43.00 with eventbrite fees), but I also agree that it's a much more noble way to raise money

2015 Oct 7
Needs $40 to make you holla?

Apparently, he gets paaaaaaaid ta do the wild thang.

2015 Oct 9
WHY YOU ROTTEN ...

Now I'm going to have that stupid Tone Loc song in my head. FOR DAYS!
And it was fitty dollahs then, so I guess LeRoy's doing it discount.

2015 Oct 10
$40 dollar event and only 1.5 hrs for the 6:30 seating. Usually dinner is 2 hr seating.

2015 Oct 14
@Rizak - you're welcome.


2016 Mar 23
The rollercoaster continues - he is no longer at Share Freehouse, claiming some sort of racial tension. His comments, and a reply from his former employer, can be found here: www.facebook.com

2016 Mar 23
...yikes

2016 Mar 23
uhmm.. he is claiming bad management at places he has been.. does it include his own restaurant(s) / food truck that has gone under?

If you have multiple failed restaurants / eateries, maybe it is saying something to your investors which might make a crowd funding a bit more difficult.

2016 Mar 24
These are very serious allegations to be made on facebook. I've read the updated rant and it really doesn't seem like there is any actual racism going on. In my books him arriving to an unclean kitchen doesn't constitute racism. He owes the owner an apology. I highly doubt anyone else will be willing to take a chance on him after this.

2016 Mar 24
Wow this is quite heated on FB with a lot of back and forth...

2016 Mar 24
Re: the unclean kitchen and no set up for the following day. It is standard procedure to clean the kitchen at the end of service and leave it ready for the lunch crew to come in to prep for service.* A dirty kitchen will set the lunch crew back in their prep work because they have to clean before they can do their prep.

Is it racism - probably not, is it @ssholish behavior - yep probably.
Cancelling an under performing service is not racism. It's a business reality.

*This is my understanding from family members who are running kitchens in TO (Chef de cuisine & EC)

2016 Mar 24
I also see mention of the food truck so was LeRoy more looking for a winter post since he did not manage his business well enough to cover all his expenses for the whole year?

Usually there is both what is written in the employment contract and what is the standard or custom i.e. clean up after yourself after the shift... Just like we see front of the house have all the places set for the next day before they leave.

2016 Mar 24
Apparently there were racist comments from one of the cooks there, and management didn't take action to stop it. I don't think anybody's claiming that leaving a kitchen dirty is racism.

It's worth noting that a respected Ottawa chef chimed in with his own unpleasant experiences at that establishment. And yes, there are always two sides to every story.

2016 Mar 24
I missed the other chef chiming in (where?), and I've definitely encountered racism -- firsthand -- in commercial kitchens; it's everywhere.

But to deny that 'anyone' is claiming leaving a dirty kitchen is racism, it's naive to think this isn't accusing that either the demands on white staff are looser, or that black opening staff don't deserve a 'proper set up' when they open:

'Did you demand the white night staff for a proper set up for your other teams early morning service?'

m.facebook.com

There've always been two sides in this saga. Wife versus LeRoy, landlord versus LeRoy, EX-wife versus LeRoy, suppliers versus LeRoy, Share versus LeRoy. At this point I think he might have been more successful if he had tried crowdfunding some counselling. Stop me if you've heard this one: 'If you meet an asshole, you met an asshole; if everyone you meet is an asshole, you're the asshole.'

2016 Mar 25
There's a thread on reddit about it as well: www.reddit.com . So bizzare.

2016 Mar 25
okay so he is paid $19 / hr according to the owner for Monday brunch. I don't know the pay scales for kitchens normally but I think kitchen also get a share of the tip so it does not seem that bad to me when you don't have any of the risks of the business.

But Monday brunch seems a tad risky when there were already complains about food taking an hour or more for Sunday brunch and people have far more time on weekends than weekdays.

2016 Mar 26
Wow.
Just wow.

2016 Mar 26
FoodTravel- I was scratching my head on the pay as well. LeRoy said the owner cut his pay by 50% meanwhile the owner says $19 hr. So, $38 / hr in a kitchen is crazy, if that's what he thinks he should have been getting.

I'm not sure what the going rate in kitchens are but one of the reasons I didn't go into culinary arts is that the pay was crap.


2016 Mar 26
I think the comment about cutting his pay by 50% was referring to cutting the Monday brunch. So he would be working 1 day instead of 2 days.

I saw the comment from another chef that FF referred to, I think I will not go out of my way to patronize the restaurant.

What is it about that location? It seems to have bad mojo. Wasn't a Greek restaurant in that spot and they also had allegations of issues around pay.

2016 Mar 26
I thought he meant that his hours were cut in half, not his $/hr.

The racism angle seems to involve two things... A comment made by someone ... Customer or staff, I'm not sure... whom the owner either defended or declined to confront, and the Sun nite staff not setting up for the Mon brunch. Don't know how the latter equals racism as opposed to poor planning/management or just laziness.

2016 Mar 26
Ahh ok! That makes sense. A Monday brunch just seems odd to me.

2016 Mar 27
Leroy just needs to disappear and GTFO of Ottawa. He's burned too many bridges and has too many issues. He needs to look in the mirror and get his shit together. Many, including myself, are sick of him and his act.

2016 Mar 27
I wouldn't take the word of the chef I think FF is referring to. He can't seem to keep a job either.

2016 Mar 27
@wholesale Wayne, what makes you say that? Sounds pretty harsh

2016 Mar 28
There's just always some sort of crazy story...

2016 Mar 28
And that somehow justifies telling him to disappear and get out of town?!?!

It certainly looks like LeRoy's fight is real. I wish him the best.

2016 Mar 28
monday brunch sounded wierd. some restaurants even close mondays since business is slow and some places host industry night on monday since a number of restaurant choose that day to close. added an additional brunch on Sat would make more sense than mon.

there were a few people that mentioned food were slow including some that liked leroys food. some issue they said the restaurant admitted to like being short staffed but it seemed that it did not explained everything and kitchen played a part.

2016 Mar 28
I didn't have the brunch but my friends went one of the last weekends and it took them over an hour to get food and it wasn't busy. They said the food was oversalted and practically inedible which surprised me. Anyways I read the FB thread and I think it's an unfortunate situation. I wish the best for LeRoy as well, but I think they way he handled this was unprofessional and will probably eliminate any chance of someone else hiring him.

2016 Mar 28
The way his efforts become public spectacle probably isn't helping.
The sad part is that an element of the spectacle is that he drew attention because people generally wanted him to succeed. There is a market for his style of food in Ottown and no one else is really trying to hit it... We want 'Detroit soul food', we want killer fried chicken... He's not wrong about that at least.

2016 Apr 1
I don't know for sure - but when someone only ever encounters A-Holes... It's time for them to look in the mirror - just in case it might be them.