I am buying the domain rehirewolfe.org or boycottsantiago.org (which is better, i am torn) and getting a letter ready for my fellow political peeps who frequent his other restaurant, La Cocina. Who is with me?

Boycottsantiago.com is better, yo.

Boycottsantiago.com is better, yo.

Perhaps, methinks, it is the gringos who are boycotting anything Latino?

Sorry, I'm with the owner on this one. You can't run a business with a manager who is so blatantly insubordinate.

What's weird, Mapleleaf, and leaves Santiago open to criticism, is the way he tried to take credit for giving everyone the day off—the sign in the door on Monday? Dishonest. He fired the guy who gave everyone the day off, but tried to make it look like he had closed the restaurant himself.

If closing the place was something he wanted to boast about, he shouldn't have fired Vance. It was a hypocritical move.

And just as Santiago has a right to fire anyone he likes, his customers have a right to eat elsewhere, pickets, express their displeasure.

A clear case of fuck-the-community, on the part of this owner. Sure, if this was a cafe almost anywhere else, where "anywhere else" is a neighborhood that doesn't have the Broadway community dynamic, this owner actions would've raised a "aw, that sucks for the manager. now, give me my dinner". Typical american apathy towards, well, everything about the greater world in general.

But it isn't anywhere else, it is on Broadway. This is a community, the community says that the manager is "A Good Joe". The owner? "A Bad Dude" Fair? Life ain't fair, as they say. well, the manager is loved by the community, the community feels he acted in good faith, and was unfairly treated by the owner. Plus, the owner is acting like his shit don't stink with those signs he hung in "solidarity". Well, the community says his shit does stink, and doesn't want to give the dude their money.

Stick-it-to-the-hypocritical-man.

This business owner is a blood sucker --- called Republican greed -- he and Dick Cheney should have drinks.

I gave my employees the afternoon off, with pay. He is stupid to boot.

No political sense of the Hill. What a fireworks combo - activist fags and Mexican grunt workers in revolt. Love it .

Will never spend a dime there or the other place again, ever.

Blood suckers always blame other people for their greed --- like warmongers blaming someone for the need to start a war.

Nice use of the word, "methinks", but I (we) am (are) hardly protesting anything latino. Quite the contrary. I am protesting the stubborness and the sheer lameness of a boss who refused to give his employees the day off to march in what-is-arguably one of the biggest issues affecting a majority of his staff.

This is what irks most people (myself especially) about a business-focused society. Businesses and their owners can come across as soulless - concerned solely with their bottom lines and completely disregarding those issues directly impacting the lives of their workers whether it be a liveable wage, health care or civil liberties. It's lame. Now before I get the Association of Washington Business pissing down my throat, I will say "it appears that way" and not all businesses are completely soulless profit-mongers.

And there are lots of latino-owned businesses (probably with tighter bottom lines than Santiago's, I assure you) who gave their workers off - gladly and proudly. It sucks that not only can he not see the value of letting his employees enjoy the power and importance of such an event, but he has to be PUNITIVE against those that do get the power and importance of such an event.

And it particularly sucks because I love La Cocina (despite the 2 sour-cream induced heart attacks I have had there); and furthermore, it sucks because most of the servers know me on a first name basis. You don't get that in a lot of restaurants in Seattle. And you certainly don't get it with a large fish-bowl sized margarita in front of you.

I'll haul my ever-expanding ass to Los Margaritas on Aurora before I go back to La Cocina again. Now, if Santiago were to do a 180, I will gladly resume my drunken stupor at his beloved La Cocina.

It’s unfortunate that the waiters will suffer because of their employer’s decision,

The waiters are suffering because people aren't eating there, not because of the owner's descision.

The boycotters have every right to do what they will, but failing to own the consequnces of their actions is childish.

I love how there are no viewpoints allowed between "mine" and "Dick Cheney".

Brian, that's just bad logic. That's like saying "Soldiers are dying in Iraq because terrorists are shooting at them, not because Bush took us to war. Bush has no responsibility here."

Furthermore, the protest occured in teh first place because immigrant laborers *are already suffering*

The reason I enjoyed Septieme in the past was because the intangibles made me feel good -- the ambience, the attitude, the mood. But now if I were to go back, I'd be thinking about how the owner is kind of dick, which pretty much undercuts all the intangibles that made me go there in the past.

So the technical arguments over whether Santiago could have or should have done this or done that don't matter much to me. I don't feel the same way about the place any more, so I'll eat somewhere else now.

So are those picketers going to do anything to help those waiters make up that lost income, or help them find jobs once they inevitably lose this one?

Or is the ruination of a dozen lives secondary to making sure you make a political statement to some asshole owner?

How about this: Go to Septieme, but just buy drinks. Then when you tip, tip as much as you would if you'd bought food. That way you're not hurting the waitstaff. Problem - if that is your problem - solved.

I think it's Timmermeister...

Victor is a two-faced, money grubbing, lying freak. He’s also a neo-conservative Republican, gay Latino that had one of his busboys take the wheel of his Hum V (yes, this is the car that he owns) while he slunk in the back so that the Fox news camera couldn’t catch him in the driver’s seat.

But a good businessman? Victor is not.

Victor fired his number one employee because neither Victor nor Vance could stop employees from attending the march or participating in the one-day walk out. No, Victor wasn’t stupid enough to fire the whole staff -- after all, he’s a two-faced, money grubbing, lying freak -- but he was stupid enough to fire the best manager Café Septieme has ever known. And he’s still stupid enough to think that his actions and dishonesty aren’t going to backfire and put a dent in his bottom line.

Victor is a two-faced, money grubbing, lying freak. He’s also a neo-conservative Republican, gay Latino that had one of his busboys take the wheel of his Hum V (yes, this is the car that he owns) while he slunk in the back so that the Fox news camera couldn’t catch him in the driver’s seat.

But a good businessman? Victor is not.

Victor fired his number one employee because neither Victor nor Vance could stop employees from attending the march or participating in the one-day walk out. No, Victor wasn’t stupid enough to fire the whole staff -- after all, he’s a two-faced, money grubbing, lying freak -- but he was stupid enough to fire the best manager Café Septieme has ever known. And he’s still stupid enough to think that his actions and dishonesty aren’t going to backfire and put a dent in his bottom line.

Let's show this slimy little mexican what community is all about. We'll make him hurt with a boycot and maybe he'll think again about standing united with his latino brothers and sisters.

That's the spirit! Make the Latinos who work for him hurt too! Fuck them, right? Guilt by association! Because no other restaurant in the world is run by a complete asshole....

Gomez, I know first hand that the 'Latinos who work for him' ie:kitchen staff, are getting paid weather or not there are customers to be had. The people who could potentially be hurt by such a boycott or demonstration are the serving staff who rely so heavily on tips. However as I understand it to this point business has not waned as thought and they are having pretty average nights (I asked). The servers I know there support a stand such as this one, against the mentality that the almighty dollar is the be all and end all of life. So if they are taking a political stand with the rest of the Capitol Hill community-good for them-they are not just paying lip-service to a money mongering owner but instead themselves taking a ding in the pocket book for an important cause/statement.

it was that money mongering owner that gave you that restaurant to eat in the first place. you kissed his ass when you patronized his establishment before. Any way you all not eating chimichanga at his restaurant is not going to change the fact that we didn't see your asses giving a shit on the immigrant marchout in the first place the day it occured. All we here about is this restaurant over and over. Nothing about the politics of the the march. Typical highschool bs about about an issue thats not the driving factor of the marchout in the first place. Yeah your sticking it to the man, while the other man is laughing all the way to the bank in other parts of the city. I'm sure there were more situations like this restaurant all over washington. Poor little Broadway boohooing about silly little reataurant. You'll all give up and eat there again soon enough. hahahalol.

I'll be there.

By the way, if any new readers are interested, here is a good article written by Dan Savage back in 2004 about the history of Septieme.

It gives an idea of the spirit of the original Septieme which assisted with creating a loyal customer base.

and the marchout was about money money money. Making it legal or otherwise whocares.It had to do with labor. thats what people come to america for. Fortune man its all about fortune. Don't tell me otherwise. They couldn't find it or change it in mexico so they will come to America because America is the land of milk and honey man.

I'm sorry to say I will miss seeing you idiots picketing out on the street on Saturday.

As an FYI, I stopped by last night and had a drink and the place was packed.

am planning on having dinner there this evening in support of Victors decision to fire his Manager.

Mr. Hardon... can I call you Happy Harry?

Workers get sent home early if work is slow, whether or not they need the money. They are paid a base wage by the hour.

Okay, it's just after 4 PM, so this is a timely question that more than likely will cancel your little parade.

Did any of you rocket scientists think to get a permit for this picket line?

I'm certainly calling the East Precinct and asking them to swing by to check for one tomorrow night.

let me guess, you are rescheduling this protest from 6 to 6:05 tomorrow?