Tria Cafe Rittenhouse

Former Tria Workers Allege Owner Poisoned Its Work Culture | Eater Philly

"When I examined this small Philadelphia wine-bar group that opened at 18th and Sansom streets in 2004 as a casual wine bar with fine-dining-level service, I found a sharp contrast between its public, progressive brand—promoting women wine producers, donating to social-justice charities, and advertising a 19-point “Tria Promise” with a $15 minimum wage, retirement plan, and mental-health reimbursements—and repeated staff accounts of a toxic workplace under co-owner Jon Myerow. Multiple former employees described a pattern of angry outbursts and exacting managerial demands (yelling over minor infractions, calling staff on days off about Yelp reviews), chilling workplace expectations around appearance enforced in a prescriptive staff handbook, and numerous instances of sexualized comments, boundary-crossing advances, and at least one alleged nonconsensual touch; Rayne Betts, who became restaurant manager in October 2018, says Myerow yelled at her in front of guests and staff, made comments such as “I don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m not Brett Kavanaugh,” and left her so frightened she hid locked in a bathroom, leading to his temporary removal from day-to-day operations (though he resurfaced later and Betts resigned in mid-2019). While some current and former employees spoke positively and the company provided redacted letters describing good experiences, I found that 27 of 37 people I spoke with reported negative experiences, staff documentation corroborated many accounts, and reforms (updated harassment-reporting procedures and a DEIP committee) were later added as the company adjusted its policies." - Dayna Evans