A Former Employee Sues Larchmont’s Cookbook Market for Racial Discrimination and Wrongful Termination | Eater LA
"At the Larchmont location of Cookbook Market — a market and café known for its fresh produce and curated home-goods selection that Joint Venture Restaurant Group acquired in 2020 — a former barista, Shatoya Allen, says she experienced race- and sex-based discrimination and wrongful termination. Hired in October 2023, Allen alleges that after a new store manager, LJ Rivas, began supervising in December 2023 she was treated with “unwarranted hostility because she is a Black woman,” including being reprimanded for talking with coworkers when non-Black coworkers were not; on January 15, 2024, Allen says Rivas cut her shift short during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day rush, and after she asked to finish tasks HR manager Sydney Susskind told her to clock out or the company would call the police. Allen alleges she replied, “You’re going to call the police on a Black employee? What are you going to do when they come and shoot me?” and that, after she clocked out and continued browsing, Rivas repeatedly told her to “get out” and called the police; she left before officers arrived, who allegedly told Rivas no laws had been broken. The next morning she says the doors were locked and she was told she was fired for “insubordination.” Allen’s complaint lists eight causes of action — including race and sex harassment and discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, and wrongful termination — and seeks general, lost-earnings, and punitive damages for the emotional distress she alleges. Cookbook Market shared an internal memo from owners Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, and Helen Johannesen acknowledging the incident “did not reflect the values we hold,” saying management’s internal investigation found the supervisor “inappropriately escalated the situation,” the police should not have been called, Allen should not have been fired, and that Allen was offered her job back with back pay while Rivas was terminated; the allegations were first aired publicly after a now-deleted January 2024 TikTok by creator Ruby Solina prompted commenters to name the store." - Rebecca Roland
