An email sent to community members and members of the press is getting the word out that management and staff of La Boheme West Hollywood, at 8400 Santa Monica Boulevard, is holding a pre-city council meet-up at 4:30pm to protest the $19.08 minimum wage to “save businesses and protect our residents from inflated prices.”
“The highest cost of political aspirations of our Mayor is being paid by our residents who put her in office believing her only commitment was to make their quality of life better. Having the highest minimum wage in the world, our community today pays the highest prices in the country for basic expenses like groceries.
The demonstrators will be walking from La Boheme to the City Council Meeting at 5:30pm for public comment at a regular City Council meeting scheduled for tonight at 6pm at the city council chambers at625 N. San Vicente Boulevard
1. Reduce the wage to $16/hour for tip employees and consider tips as wages
2. Use the inflated sales tax to support our residents and low margin businesses
Lucian Tudor, the CEO of La Boheme, announced over the weekend 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 a letter for public comments submitted to the agenda of tonight’s council meeting.
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.
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. They were later arrested in the City of Beverly Hills.
If you can’t afford to pay your employees a livable wage then maybe you shouldn’t be running a restaurant in West Hollywood.
Congratulations, United Here local 11! Founding our councils electoral campaigns and make them sign NDAs by promising to vote always PRO United here! and drafting policies so they can have more contracts and steal from hard working people wages. Also they apply for wavers which I find ethically unacceptable. . .Welcome to’ legalized corruption! We, residents pay the highest price for them political aspirations! Good job Horvath, Sepi and Erickson we didn’t know you had such aspirations when we first voted for you! Now the Mayor is going for Congress! Revolution is coming, next San Fransicko!
Minimum wage should be brought back down to $5 dollars an hour. These minimum wage paying jobs are starter jobs. Minimum wage should be brought back down to five dollars an hour. So people value their jobs. And would want to pursue an education to move on up in life. Again these are starter jobs for teenagers and such people of that age not for grown adults and if they’re good at what they’re doing they will be tipped well.. these business owners should not be expected to finance Employees lives with their minimum skill set they possess and that’s… Read more »
Works out to $867 monthly for a full time employee.
Pardon me for asking, but from which planet did you originate? Perhaps on Venus that’s enough for a living wage, but here on Earth…..
Well, not everyone can drive a Rolls-Royce or live in Beverly Hills now can they? You work your way up the ladder that’s how the working world is these are starter jobs the people that can afford homes in the Norma triangle are people that can pay $20,000 a month mortgages. Money that they have earned. People that rent apartments in West Hollywood a one bedroom for 3000 is because of money that they have earned an education that they have achieved vocational skills that they have achieved.As a matter fact no one under the age of 30 should receive… Read more »
Have you proven your “worth”?
Who are the arbiters of worth in your world? Is there a Worth Panel, or is it just up to you? Anything other than education level come in to play in your worth determination? Where should the unworthy work, live, and play? Are the unworthy allowed to interact with the worthy in any situation other than being of service?
Grammar and punctuation are indications of one’s education level, and according to you, level of worth as well; you best study up or the Worth Panel will set your compensation at $5 hourly.
Yur comment was adorable btw❤️
They’ve been raising their prices before the minimum wage situation came up on July 1 their happy hour drinks have gone up in price …their fish plate went up five dollars in price before the minimum wage hike went up. Furthermore we need to bring all the minimum wage back down to $10 an hour so these employees can really appreciate their jobs they’re getting a little too hoity-toity around here along with these bartenders… I get the same fish plate at Norman‘s around the corner with soup and salad and vegetables and rice for $10.85 The only saving grace… Read more »
I agree with the CEO, tipped employees should have that count as part of their wages. As long as they make up the difference when their tips do not average enough to put them at the min wage amount per hour.
Per a recent LA Times article – Tudor said his business is “not a failure.” La Boheme averages sales of $600,000 a month, according to Tudor, and hosts 400 people for brunch and 400 for dinner on Saturdays, the busiest day”. Just sayin.
If raising the minimum wage to a livable standard threatens a restaurants existence, then let it die, it’s apparent it’s run by someone who’s not very good with their financials are in such a poor state.
Very simplistic viewpoint.
Gracias Madre has a happy hour with seven dollar apps and nine dollar spicy margs. They have busboys. They play by the same rules as this owner and they’ve been here for years. Maybe the rent on Santa Monica is higher than Melrose, idk. Granville on Beverly also has a happy hour with 5.5 beers and 8 dollar apps. All in WeHo. Why can’t Boheme compete with them?
This narcissist egomaniac “CEO” is so warped. He fires staff and then wants to hold a rally to highlight this. Every busboy he fired should have found a job in hours btw. The city should immediately rescind his use of the parking lot as seating and his other employees should walk out on him. Close this place down, find a new operator. Just imagine what Lisa Vanderpump would do with is space.
Lisa V would get robbed and trashed just as he has. You sound like a narcissistic egomaniac projecting things. Perhaps you have been paying too much attention to the opinions of the tiny people who live in your salt shaker.
Let the market determine a higher minimum wage. Some businesses cannot afford it. There are plenty of businesses paying $19 or higher so if your employer isn’t paying you enough then you can quit. Nobody is holding you hostage. Forcing small businesses to do this is outrageous.
That’s the answer. Let the employers determine the minimum rate based on what they think they can afford.
Yeah let’s let the for-profit businesses decide the minimum wage!!!
There is already a minimum wage of $15.50/hr. The difference is WEHO creating a higher minimum wage than the state minimum wage when it’s not necessary. Businesses are already competing for employees with higher wages. The point is there are some small business who cannot afford this higher minimum wage and they will be forced to lay off people or even worse go out of business. The businesses that can afford to pay more are most likely already paying $19 or more for their minimum wage. If we want businesses to pay hire wages then maybe we should also force… Read more »
LA, LA County, Pasadena, Malibu all have higher minimum wages than the California min.
Malibu is $16.90/hr that’s not $19.08 and the cost of living in Malibu is significantly higher than WEHO. WEHO has more important issues to deal with and it’s hard enough these days to survive if you are a small business. The people who complain have never run a business, have never paid business taxes in WEHO and don’t know what it’s like to pay outrageous rent every month. Most businesses that are profitable already pay more than $16.90. We pay our interns a minimum of $20/hour but we can afford it. Not everyone is so lucky. These laws only punish… Read more »
United Here! Founding our councils campaigns and make them sign NDAs by promising to vote always PRO United here! and drafting policies so they can have more contracts and steal from hard working people wages. Also they apply for wavers which I find ethically unacceptable. . .Welcome to’ legalized corruption! Revolution is coming, next San Fransicko!
You seem like a big drama queen who complains about everything. Maybe you should try running a business in WEHO. You would most likely go bankrupt. Nobody is forcing anyone to work for this restaurant. If they want to layoff people that is their business. If you don’t want to support La Boheme that is your decision. If the service is lousy and the food is lousy nobody will support the restaurant and that is how it should be. Stop complaining and grow up.
You’re the one giving us drama Natasha. You must be one of the 10 managers that work at La Boheme. Come to think of it why didn’t that CEO fire one of the many managers in exchange for the busboys that were let go? Their livelihood was collateral damage. This is about politicizing your business to stick it to the Mayor you all hate so much.
Believe me, Sepi will be voted out of office. She is incompetent. Save the drama for your momma and grow up.Those busboys can find a million other places that need them and probably make more money. You are just a drama queen and most likely a poor tipper.
The ENTIRE city council voted to raise the minimum wage. All 5 of them. I’m not sure why you’re pinning this on Sepi?
It doesn’t affect my business but the vote was foolish. Maybe a symbolic increase closer to Malibu but a 30% increase??? I’ve already made my points about that above. When it comes to election time these people will be held accountable. I’m more upset with Sepi about her dumb position on defunding the sheriff’s department and she’s not the only one. We just had a woman shot dead over a gay flag at her store near Lake Arrowhead. The last thing we need is to defund our sheriff’s department. I’m always for better training and more engagement with our community… Read more »
She’s running for Congress ! It all make sense as Lindsey now is a supervisor! Weho residents are paying them electoral campaigns!!
Not true!!! Maybe because she has bigger aspirations then our city wellbeing
HAh!!! I got 8 thumbs down! Do folks not know sarcasm when they see it? Jeez.
We do know..just have’t seen it.
Good. Bravo to them for speaking up and highlighting the failed polices of our city government.
Except this guy didn’t call out the city government. He called out one person and that was Sepi Shyne. They hate her and blame her for all their problems.
Sepi Shine wants to defund the police unless it’s for protecting her home. Typical progressive fool.
indeed- all of council voted for min wage hike- but WHO gets blamed? the lesbian POC mayor…….
remember kids,
wages = money paid by your employer
tips = free money from strangers who feel sorry for you cuz they assume your employer is a PoS
big difference
One more thing kids, “wages, tips and salaries” all count as income regardless of what you elect to call money left for your from customers. Any server who has ever filed their taxes ought to know this.
Imagine you’re an employee at LaBoheme and you have to stand by your ego maniac boss protesting you getting a decent living wage. The whole thing is so disgusting.
What happened? All the vulgar special interest comments trying to discredit this man got condensed to just one comment with 6 likes?
I am not a special interest comment. Weho Prince is spot on.
I’m not a special interest person. I’m just calling it like I see it. That man just admitted he’s selling the business so you wanna know what’s really vulgar? Him trying to burn it all down because he’s on his way out. He’s gross. .
the performative self indulgent nature of this man is evident and his restaurant is thoroughly mediocre
I have a friend with a food truck who needs a “CEO” so this guy may a future………….
This is a new posting; the original posting s still there with the comments you mention.