Queue de Cheval Owners Allegedly Stole Wages and Tips to Pay Bills | Eater Montreal

"At the high-end downtown steakhouse on de la Montagne Street, I found that multiple employees of La Queue de Cheval say they were not paid wages or tips for shifts worked in early March; owners notified staff in mid‑March via letter that “all salaries for the [two] weeks ending March 15th 2020 cannot be issued” and blamed financial stress and other obligations, promising payment only after federal compensation or a return to regular business. The dining room was voluntarily closed on March 16, but the restaurant remained open daily for takeout — with steaks priced $36–$191 and to‑go bottles of wine up to $155 — while some workers were later called to collect paychecks (a few were asked not to deposit them immediately) and others still reported missing hours, tips and vacation pay; some staff have filed complaints with the CNESST. Employees described being summoned to find owners absent and only given envelopes containing government-assistance forms and that letter, and said the scene left families in limbo and some in tears; one server estimated he was owed about $3,000 and suggested total debts run to tens of thousands. Owner Peter Morentzos said he was “caught off guard,” explained obligations to suppliers and purchases made in early March, launched an “Employee Rescue Fund” via gift-certificate sales and posted takeout promotions, and alternately criticized staff for speaking to media even as the CNESST investigates — a sequence that has left many employees feeling betrayed." - Tim Forster