Lucian Tudor, the CEO of La Boheme restaurant, located at 8400 Santa Monica Boulevard, has announced that he must lay off all busboy positions at the restaurant due to the rise in minimum wage in the city of West Hollywood, which is currently at $19.08 an hour. He made his announcement via public comments for the agenda of a regular council meeting tomorrow, Monday, August 20, 2023. He also sent an open letter to city council members and members of the press.
Lucian closed the restaurant on June 26 to attend a West Hollywood City Council Meeting to speak out against public safety issues at the restaurant. He took his entire staff to speak during public comment.
“After the gun robbery last month at La Boheme we have been vandalized five times,” reads an email from a representative at La Boheme. “The city is getting extremely unsafe, staff are afraid to come to work and we need the city’s help.”
The restaurant made national headlines, on April 25, 2023, after camera footage captured an armed robbery where one of the one of the suspects held an assault rifle. Three victims were robbed. One of the victims was struck in the face with a handgun by the suspects. A third victim walking on the sidewalk was also robbed at gunpoint. The suspects fled the area in a stolen, silver Dodge Charger, which was being driven by a male juvenile.
On May 3, 2023. the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) announced that the suspects had been arrested in the City of Beverly Hills. LASD released a special bulletin with mug shots of two of the four suspects involved in the armed robbery (two of the suspects are juveniles). LASD also released the names of Keymaurie Clark, 26, Briana Threets, 26, and information that a 15-year-old male juvenile, and a 15-year-old female juvenile were also arrested.
The full public comment regarding the recent layoffs reads as follows:
Dear City Council members,
My name is Lucian Tudor of La Boheme restaurant at 8400 Santa Monica Blvd.
I got my start in the restaurant business as a busboy with La Boheme at 22 years old without experience or skills. I worked my way from the bottom and
learned every aspect of the business, and today, 13 years later, I’m the CEO.
My responsibility as CEO is to make sure our business stays alive. And unfortunately, due to current politics and the recent action by this City Council to raise the minimum wage, I have been forced to revise our business model, and must now lay off EVERY BUSBOY at La Boheme. This is not a decision I have made lightly, but it is one I have made in order for our business to survive.
For me, this is heartbreaking.
At $19.08, West Hollywood has the highest minimum wage in the WORLD. This City Council needs to understand that there is great cost to this misguided decision to surpass both the Los Angeles minimum wage of $16.90 AND the California state minimum wage of $15.50.
The repercussions will be many. To name a few: business closures job losses, and price hikes which will become a burden on every patron, resident and visitor.
The action to raise the minimum wage far and above the state and city is ultimately lopsided.
More importantly it is the result of back-room policy making, a superficial approach to dialogue with stakeholders, broken campaign promises with nothing but lip service to the constituents who put you in office. It is (embarrassing and) shameful.
Today, West Hollywood has the highest prices in the country for basic expenses like groceries. What happened to the commitment to make residents’ quality of life better?
This council must remember that it has a duty to represent, serve, and act for the interests of ALL its constituents in the community.
This council must understand the gravity and impact of this policy, and must choose to pivot and course correct.
Here are two options that will have immediate positive impact:
Reduce the wage to $16/hr and consider tips as wages. OR
Use the inflated sales tax to support our residents, and low-margin businesses.
I hope this Council has the courage it needs to to save businesses, support the residents and insure the vitality of this community.
Thank you for reading this email and see you all tomorrow at the City Council meeting.
Regards,
Lucian Tudor
CEO
Global-Dining, Inc. of California
Stop voting in the idiots who have turned this once great city into a lawless slum. Pretty simple. Until you drop this progressive thinking that places feelings above logic, youre all doomed
I want to speak to Councilman John Erickson’s response to Mr. Tudor’s appearance before the Council. First, Councilman Erickson suggested that Mr. Tudor, Owner of La Boheme, was sending mixed messages, given he was just there re Safety and today the minimum wage. Two months ago, Mr. Tudor was before the Council after guests were robbed at gunpoint, one struck with an assault rifle, and then a third robbed outside. The assailants were caught in BH by the Private Security Co, brought on by BH, given the increase in crime in LA. Keeping irony at bay (Defund the Police), there was… Read more »
Minimum wage paying jobs are starter jobs. And minimum wage should be brought down to $10 an hour.
Or actually five dollars an hour. So that people value their jobs and will pursue an education and do better in their life. These are starter jobs does anyone understand that on the comment section
I agree with Lucian. Let’s be competitive with other surrounding cities on minimum wage especially since our borders are very close to the City of Los Angeles and or Beverly Hills. Many businesses can simply move a block or two down the road and suddenly their overheard drops by 10- 20%. Why not lure businesses here not dissuade them. A quick drive down SMB tells a story. That story is many businesses have left the area due to high costs. Kitchen 24 just closed. Sprouts closed, Starbucks closed. Those businesses that have stayed have absurdly high prices. It has really… Read more »
Can’t afford a measly 3 additional dollars an hr??? Give me a break.
Its actually only like $2.18 more an hour
This is so fucking sad that more then half these comments are probably from Rich white gay men that can’t even acknowledge the fact that a young man that worked for a company for over a decade became the owner of the company and is struggling financially to try to keep his restaurant going. Nobody has yet to comment their condolences to him and the robby nobody has given this man a positive response and it’s fucked up and sad. I myself do agree with most in the comments we live in a state and city where minimum wage needs… Read more »
Racists much?
He was a real terrible boss, he gets what he deserves. Karma isn’t so pretty is it?
Sounds like a restaurant problem.
Two things…
Well I’m curious who has the highest minimum wage?
Exactly? Tell us who?
Luxembourg
California engineering is becoming super mega unaffordable expensive. Minimum wage of $19 is kind of a lot but still it’s not a point it’s not a problem problem is the city council, they lived on different Earth then we a. Most expensive place in Cali is BH and WeHo!!! We will lose WeHo as Beautiful adorable place for everyone….
It’s becoming Millionaires and Homeless city….
If raising the minimum wage by a few dollars is going to potentially put this restaurant out of business, sounds like the restaurant could use new management. I know how much profit margins there are on drinks and food at a restaurant. He’s either greedy or terrible at his job, which one is it?
I agree with u 100
You’re an idiot is what you are. Add on the payroll taxes that also have to be paid and that $19 and hour becomes $23 an hour or more. Then add in all the other taxes, fees, insurances, sky high rents, sky high food and liquor costs and then tell me what’s left for the owners. Not much, and I know this because I’m an owner of a food establishment and obviously you aren’t because you don’t know shit. So shut the fuck up.
Oh no! 23 dollars an hour :,( someone help the poor CEO!
Also what kind of name is Vin, loser
West Hollywood must fired this guy
19.06 isn’t even a living wage! Minimum wage *should* be 21.09 because that is a living wage in LA, which is the entire purpose behind a minimum wage.
Crime is up in large part due to people’s desperation, which is being fueled by not being able to afford food and housing. This guy is complaining about the symptoms and the cure.
Good to know. My friend might be interested in that spot?.
I support a living wage but WeHo has gone too far, especially considering businesses (like Starbucks) can move a few blocks away and be outside the city. West Hollywood’s minimum wage should match LA county or maybe be slightly higher.
Bravo to him for speaking up. Prices have gotten ridiculous across the board. We see the direct effects of these policies playing out in our city. How many more businesses will be forced to close before our council realizes that what they are doing isn’t working and that their policies are having devastating effects on our city and its residents?!
I’m upset the busboys have to go. The waiters can clean their own tables it’s normal in many restaurants….. They raised the happy hour drinks from 8 to 9 dollars Amd the fish plate from 23 to 28 already before this pay hike…. we need the drinks prices down. And food prices to go back down. The delicious white fish plate at norms around the corner is only $10.85 and it comes with rice and vegetables and soup and a salad… the ONLY saving grace for this place is the bathrooms lock.. so while I wait for my order I… Read more »
Bathroom Lock is important….
Looks like the troops were called to try and discredit this very real issue that many businesses are struggling with.
Thank you. It’s hard to believe people can be so ignorant.
They have no idea what it takes to run a business and all the risks and liability that go with it.
Thank you, Lucian–good luck with the business. We would be very sorry to see La Boheme leave West Hollywood.
As we have seen, the council members are not qualified to make decisions on our behalf. Setting the minimum wage so much higher than the rest of California and Los Angeles is an offense against West Hollywood businesses and residents.
What West Hollywood residents are you speaking of? The residents who own businesses in West Hollywood? The regular residents I know are sick of the way these restaurants are jacking up their prices and adding hidden fees to compensate for the hike in the minimum wage and they still want to cry and complain and politicize their business at the expense of their employees and their customers. To the CEO of La Boheme I say cry me a river. They inherited a massive patio through covid, which should be a parking lot and they still act like the city owes… Read more »
Thank you? What a warped thing to say given people lost their jobs so this egomaniac “CEO” can make this about him. He benefitted greatly from city and state programs during and after Covid and then does this to the most disadvantaged. Plenty of places for me to spend my money in weho and this is no longer one of them.
Enough of this guy , its always “look at me” and wow, he calls himself a CEO. He runs a single restaurant. The city allowed him to use his parking lot for extra seating for years during and after Civid, allowing him to increase revenue beyond his regular capacity. I hope they take that away. I have a sense the next people out the door will be top servers who won’t bus and can easily find a new job in Weho or BH. I know of at least a dozen restaurants in the area eagerly recruiting top quality servers. No… Read more »
This fool is about to find out. I predict this tacky restaurant will close by the end of the year.
What a DISGUSTING post from him.
It’s not tacky .. those chandeliers are beautiful!!!
That is so disgusting. Cutting off the little guy while he gets to collect his nice big fat paycheck. So who’s going to clean the tables now he’s fired all the busboys? Make the waiters work harder and damn them for making a decent living wage.
This guy is an egomaniac and deserves the pushback and to honest to lose this restaurant. Let a new operator take over the space.
It’s sad the busboy are leaving. But with the wage increase That the waiters are now receiving they should work harder for their money because they’re getting more money!!!