Employees of St. Johns Cafe Wonderwood Springs Lost Their Jobs as Ownership Changed | Eater Portland

"I see it as a fantastical, art-lined cafe in St. Johns that opened last fall alongside a gallery space from Portland-based artist Mike Bennett; Bennett—best known for family-friendly art installations and cartoon animal “slow down” signs—designed the cafe in October 2022 and sells his artwork there. Initially announced as his cafe in partnership with the coffee consulting company Coffee Business (owned by Sortis Holdings), Bennett only recently assumed ownership when Coffee Business transferred the St. Johns cafe to him and Teddy Albertson; the pair closed the shop for two to six weeks of renovations with two weeks' notice to staff and no guaranteed jobs upon reopening. Former employees, who say they created the cafe’s culture and describe the staff as majority disabled and neurodivergent and entirely queer, feel betrayed by being asked to re-apply without hiring preference for seniority and have picketed, maintained an Instagram group, and launched a GoFundMe, Venmo, and specialty-drink fundraiser to cover rent and bills. Bennett says he regrets using the word “re-apply,” cites a shrinking budget as the reason hiring is uncertain, and hoped to rehire as many people as possible; Coffee Business says it offered positions at other cafes, paid out PTO, and covered health insurance through the end of the month while denying claims of secret shoppers or discriminatory remarks. Employees counter that some offers involved moving to other Sortis-owned businesses like Sizzle Pie (which they do not want), say Coffee Business asked them to remove posters about the closure, and report that meeting requests went unanswered unless all parties were present. A correction notes Albertson is no longer an employee of Sortis and that the transition was not a formal sale." - Alice Wolfe