Town of Chautauqua restaurant, Truffle Honey, is facing two different lawsuits in State Supreme Court.
The first, filed by Gialy’s LLC on December 20, 2024, alleges a broken contract when Locale Hospitality LLC, Matthew Dinger, and Morgan Zollman backed out of buying the former restaurant located on 210 Pine Street for $200,000.
Under the purchase contract, the defendants requested the owners of Gialy’s “remove all kitchen equipment, all personal items, and all garbage and broom clean before closing” on the property.
This was done with photographic evidence supplied to Locale Hospitality LLC.
On November 6, 2024 the attorney for the defendants advised Plaintiff’s attorney that they did not wish to move forward with the sale.
The lawsuit claims Gialy’s LLC has been damaged at a minimum amount of $200,000 or the present market value of 210 Pine Street in addition to damages in the amount of $150,000 for the cost to replace the equipment, furniture, and supplies removed from the restaurant.
The lawsuit also requests an affirmative preliminary injunction ordering the Defendants to place any proceeds from the sale of their 315 Beechview Avenue residence in the City of Jamestown and from an estate sale of personal property into an interest-bearing account to preserve those assets for payment of any judgment.
No further court action has happened since that lawsuit has been filed.
The second lawsuit filed this Monday is in regard to wage and tipping violations. In the lawsuit filed by former employee Jonathan Young, it is alleged that Truffle Honey pooled tips from servers and shared them with workers who would not be considered eligible for the tip pool. The lawsuit also states servers were paid on a biweekly basis when New York law states they are to be paid weekly. Also, Young claims that he was paid less than the minimum wage for servers under state guidelines.
Young is seeking wages, including fringe benefits, lost as a result of Defendants’ actions as well as compensatory damages.
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