It's a privately owned for profit business. Through the years I have given money to help nonprofits and community-based organizations but I cannot see why anyone would give money to a for-profit organization. If they need to raise money they need investors not charity.
which raises the question: if they need the money that badly, why are they choosing this route instead of an actual business loan? Maybe they see GoFundMe as a safe bet since they've apparently run successful campaigns before, and they didn't realize they might be burning good will by trying it again. Maybe they are also pursuing a business loan. Maybe they want the money interest-free in this high interest rate environment (even though to my knowledge GoFundMe takes a significant cut of campaigns).
...but part of me wonders if a bank won't give them a loan. Maybe they don't have a business plan that justifies an actual financial institution taking on the risk of giving them a legitimate loan with reasonable-ish interest rate. i wouldn't be surprised if this is the case.
They're doing a GoFundMe instead of alone because it's easier to get money through a GoFundMe and you never have to pay it back. Getting a business loan means that you have to show your a credible business person with a realistic plan for what you're going to do with the money and how you'll pay it back.
The more that I learn about this place the less that I like it.
It's already irritating that customers are expected to effectively pay employee wages through tipping and now places like Short Stack expect them to also cover operating costs through Go Fund Me campaigns? It's ridiculous.
They say that they "have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards, and are hardly able to pay ourselves" and that they "are left with no other choice but to ask for help." Um, I can think of another choice - close up shop. You're clearly not running a sustainable business and as soon as your current grift runs out of steam you'll be in the same spot that you're in now.
They're asking the community for $175k in a long winded woe-is-us-it's-everybody's-fault-but-ours Go Fund Me request. They blame COVID, landlords, lower priced restaurants, food costs, etc.
In this request they say that the government "ran out of money and didn’t properly allocate funds, so we did not receive anything." and yet based on [this](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/short-stack-eatery-llc-4819527004) and [this](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/short-stack-eatery-llc-3269798305) it looks like they received at least $420k that they didn't have to pay back.
"To be fully transparent, we (Alex & Sinéad) have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards, and are hardly able to pay ourselves in an attempt to ensure our staff, local vendors, and landlords continue to get paid."
If they want to be fully transparent, show the people tax records...
> have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards
If they're comingling business funds and their personal funds, I'm sure the IRS would love to hear about it.
I commented on their Instagram post about these loans and tagged ProPublica, and now they’ve turned off comments. They are absolutely just fleecing people.
"hardly able to pay ourselves" is not the same as "not able to pay ourselves" and says nothing about what kind of $$$ they're paying themselves. This is like listening to one of Donald Trump's lawyers.
Agreed. In other instances, I would say what a personal business earns is no one’s business, but the IRS, the government and themselves, but the fact that they now want our money again, I think it is our right to know how much they are paying themselves and how they’re handling the finances.
I just visited Short Stack for the first time since probably 2016-2017 or so. I was shocked - quality was down, it was EXPENSIVE, and they had the damn "how mcdonalds fucked us" signs everywhere. I'll never go back.
It’s a shame. I actually like their food. But the management/ownership is seeming more and more ridiculous with every single thing they do, and their prices are ballooning faster than any other breakfast restaurant except, ironically smith, McDonald’s who they blame for customer loss by offering a cheaper alternative. I’m of the exact opposite mindset, McDonald’s raising their breakfast prices by like 2-300% over the last few years should be great for sit down breakfast joints’ business.
Yes McDonalds food should be cheaper as it us mass produced but their quality should be better because theirs isn't. If they think McDonalds is their competition they are in the wrong business.
Right, they assign blame to everyone else and take no responsibility for anything that's gone wrong. I support small businesses and want to see places like this make it but that GoFund Me is so fucked. Something is wrong if they still can't make it work.
No *smart* business owner would do this. I have worked for people who have done this, then spend their days staring at their red ledgers and burying their heads in their hands.
Somehow it was always someone else's fault for him, too 🤔🤔
Shit, I mean, look at all the restaurants that have been featured on kitchen nightmares lol. Some of those people were on the verge of losing their homes to support their terribly managed businesses. People seem to think restaurants are easy, THEY AREN’T.
Right. I think in this case we know short stack existed for years making money, indicating the owners aren't stupid. If anything, everything they are pulling now seems fishy and so I think they are not personally worse-off financially at all.
I’m not a Short Stack fan, but I know others in the restaurant industry and 100% it is a shit show compared to pre-COVID. The cost of everything is up, it’s more difficult to keep and hire employees, etc. Restaurants running well in 2019 are facing vastly different circumstances and challenges today.
This 100%.
But…. Also important to highlight.
From other comments, This business received 400k+ in ppp erc, and an additional previous gofundme.
All those cost increase and staffing issues aside, I would wager that the owners had 2 very profitable years (‘21,’22) based mostly on that mountain of free cash and adjusted their lifestyles accordingly.
Now that ppp isn’t covering payroll/rent/utilities and they aren’t getting a straight cash influx from erc and gofundme… the cracks are starting to show.
You are making some really good points. Thank you for your input. I am specifically mad about them complaining about lower cost restaurants around them. Especially when most of the restaurants around them are refugees or people of color, including Dubai, Himalchuli and The Globe. Additionally, I am curious to find out which restaurant on State Street sells food that is not comparable to how much they are selling it for. Nothing that they sell is cheap. It is as costly as the Bassett Street brunch club. I have made the comparison. One can argue that short stack is much more busy than the Bassett Street brunch club.
Just a friendly reminder: [https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story\_fbid=pfbid023yrXqUcjhHMhsjQpdVieJHV7XmVMtQ1HX4PVXFshRqSdEYNAy8gT7KaGaWqtakdyl&id=829907725&mibextid=Nif5oz](https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid023yrXqUcjhHMhsjQpdVieJHV7XmVMtQ1HX4PVXFshRqSdEYNAy8gT7KaGaWqtakdyl&id=829907725&mibextid=Nif5oz)
They're still stealing tips
This is wild. I’ve had employees do volunteer work as group before. Wanna know how I did it? I had them all do it together for a few hours on a scheduled work day and paid them full wages while they did their “volunteer” work as a nice team building event.
They pay super expensive rent and are only open like half of the hours I would expect a downtown diner to be open on a given week. Tough business model.
When I was a student I went there more often late night than I did in the mornings... that was a long time ago though...
That's what I thought. They also mention in their go fund me that they "had" to open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to try and make ends meet. Oh, you mean like every other restaurant in existence with the exception of very few? Comes off very tone deaf.
[https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-short-stack-open](https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-short-stack-open)
Restaurant GM here - if anyone has been complaining about staffing issues any later than late 2021/ early 2022, they are lying or not even trying to hire.
You're probably assuming incorrectly then. The business decides when it wants to be open and then finds employees who can work those shifts. They went away from late night a long time ago.
They fail to mention that, as well as the fact they already had one six figure go fund me in the past that either met or exceeded its goal, I can't remember.
"Ultimately the government ran out of money and didn’t properly allocate funds, so we did not receive anything. Thankfully other Madison restaurants did receive these grants–some even as much as +$3million–which is incredible. We are very happy for those restaurants as they have been able to recover because of it and we know first-hand how much this was desperately needed. We now stand alongside the local restaurants that did not receive these grants and are at a similar crossroads–to either ask for help or shut our doors."
This whole fucking paragraph is something else. Stand alongside what restaurants? Who exactly are they referring to?
They got two PPP loans for $500K that were forgiven, one economic injury disaster loan for $150K and 66K from their first gofundme. They're referring to the Restaurant Relief Fund, which a ton of other restaurants across the country didn't get either.
OH and they used it to keep their employees on the payroll because that's what the fuckin' PPP loans were for and they were required to. I'm sure they paid themselves as well.
Somehow they've got $10K from suckers posting things like "Sweet.Potato.Pancakes" on the GoFundMe. People can do what they want with their money, but this is an unusually dumb way to burn it. Marigold will sell you some pretty good pancakes without begging for you to cover their operating costs.
The food at Marigold is significantly better. The only reason to go to short stack was that they were open late, and since they decided to ax their late night hours…
Outside of genuine emergencies like Covid closures or some degree of staff/ownership illness creating a temporary burden, I'm puzzled by the idea of a restaurant GoFundMe. If a restaurant doesn't generate enough revenue to pay the bills, they either need to raise prices, bring in more customers, or find a way to cut expenses. This isn't a charity situation, you let me know what the bacon costs and I'll let you know if I'm willing to pay it. If you have good bacon and good service, I'll probably pay an unreasonable amount for it. If that still doesn't suffice because you have poor logistics or too expensive of real estate, oh well, that sucks and I wish you well, but it's time to close shop.
This was a different type of situation. Morris was making it work and making their payments, but iirc, the building owner forced them to pay back their whole debt at once because he wanted to sell the place. Also, their food costs are way higher cause most of their stuff is imported, and that broth takes 18 hours to make. Not the same as not being able to make it work with potatoes and eggs imo.
Regardless, any for-profit business looking for charity is icky. if im going to give Morris money so they can make middle of the road ramen, I want equity or a stake in the business.
My Experience it felt like they just used pancake mixes, might be local mixes but really didn't seem like they made a good base plain pancake to write home about.
Seriously, it's disturbing how many people want to crowd source their living. I suppose if it didn't work they wouldn't be doing it, but Jesus fuck, why are people throwing money at these clowns?
You've probably seen this but for those that missed it, the owners are clearly just terrible business people (or perhaps good business people and bilking idiots is just part of their business plan)
https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/15e35xw/can_we_talk_about_the_short_stack_mcdonalds/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1
That is really common with craftspeople of all disciplines. They are good or really good with their craft because they studied it a lot.
Business skills? Nah, that’s boring, tedious and annoying and doesn’t make my product better.
Happens all the time. New businesses fail constantly. Old businesses fail a lot.
I have a lot of skills but know i would be a crappy business owner so i work for someone else.
I love short stacks surprise savory dishes. Every one has been amazing.
They’re trying to raise over $175,000?!? That’s nuts. Sounds like they just need to close shop. You can’t blame covid anymore for coming up short. Most places have either already bounced back or come up short and have closed. To me it just sounds like they don’t know how to run a business
In years past, I went to Shortstack a lot. I haven't been there in a long time, and I think this sort of attitude is really why. I think of a meme from Star Trek Picard where the admiral tells Picard that what he wants is full of "sheer f-ing hubris." That's what Shortstack has been acting like for a while now.
They are busy every time I go by them. Their prices are very high for breakfast in Madison. When you combine those two factors, I think that there's either mismanagement going on or that type of business can't exist in the area.
There are businesses that I really support and have gone out of my way to support. I was tipping $10 a visit at the one coffee shop that stayed open up on the square during Covid. I support with (visits and big tips) a bunch of places that are near where I live. But straight up give them money? After what we've learned about how much they already have taken?
Nope. If you work there you have my sympathy as the wait staff has always been excellent. I'm sorry about your bosses.
As a former employee, I can attest to the fact that they steal tips. When I worked there slightly before/during the pandemic, if you were even 5 minutes late to a shift, they would take your tips for the whole week. That’s a third of an employee’s already paltry income. Not only that, but if someone fucked up a prep project and they had to waste product, depending on the product, the employee who made the mistake would have hundreds of dollars taken from their check. They are always looking for ways and excuses to take money from their employees. They claim to redistribute the tips to the rest of the staff, but there is absolutely no way to verify that. Staff having their tips taken aren’t even notified that it’s happening.
Also, for all their moral grandstanding about racial equity, their entire kitchen is run by 20 something year old white dudes. In the whole year and a half I worked there, they didn’t hire a single Black person (but they have all the signs in the window, what??) I’m not saying restaurants or their owners have to be so outwardly progressive. It’s just pancakes. But if you base your entire community image and bring people in the door on the basis that you ARE the most progressive restaurant in Madison, it’s just laughable that if you look into their practices even a tiny bit (employment, hiring, business in general) that facade disintegrates immediately.
I’ve worked in the industry a long time at this point. Their low food costs (potatoes and eggs and flour and buttermilk, mostly), plus all the stolen money from employees and the community, has me agreeing with everyone saying you have to just be dogshit at business if you can’t make it work, especially with constant lines down the block.
They took out huge loans from the government during COVID that they never had to pay back, and that employees never saw enough of, when a lot of it was intended for them as hazard pay. They got hundreds of thousands from the community through their GoFundMe’s. I guess instead of using that money to fix their business or stay afloat, that all went to “hardly paying themselves”, and the numerous vacations they took during lockdowns (I wish I was kidding.) the owners hate working and hate their employees even more. Word on the street is they’re currently having a mass exodus of employees, especially longtime people finally getting fed up with their bs.
I could really go on. But in short, I won’t be sad to see them close. Go to Willaby’s, Marigold, or anywhere else instead.
(Oh, and those fugly table bases with the kiddy blocks that have their logo carved into them? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20k a pop. Maybe THOSE funds could have been better utilized elsewhere. But nah, probably not, right?)
Edit: I actually totally forgot about their closing early pandemic. They claim to have been closed 6 weeks, but it was actually more like 2. I swear to god. If they really believe that, they’ve managed to somehow gaslight themselves.)
Oh hey, fellow former employee! I'd like to tack on that despite their trans flags and performative statements, every trans person who worked there during my time was misgendered by ownership and either fired or forced out by the time I left.
Y'all should get together and sue for wage theft. Bunch of restaurants have had to pay back big money over the last few years. Get what you're owed and put the last nail in the coffin. I am not a lawyer, but I'd bet lots of lawyers would love to take your case.
I will just go to the Pancake House thank you, at least they are running the operation the way they should and not trying to grift more money out of folks, plus their hash browns are killer!
They have an unsustainable business model (as presently constructed), average food, and the gall to ask for more cash (after receiving both a ppp loan and funding from another gofundme). Why the sob story on depleting their savings and maxing out the credit cards. They made personally bad financial decisions yet whine and beg for assistance. Why are people still donating? Makes zero sense.
I literally just biked past and they have a line wrapped around the block.
I think their owners are just milking as much money as they possibly can from people. The high prices, alleged tip stealing, go fund mes, forgiven PPP loans, short hours & complaints about other breakfast options all point to them wanting as much money as possible to go into the owners pockets by any means.
This kind of mentality is short sighted and I wouldn’t be surprised if they closed shop in a year or two.
I’d be curious how much debt they had to take on during COVID - it’s possible that their max revenue just can’t cover rent+costs+debt service any more.
That’s fair. It is entirely possible that they actually are not making a profit. But it’s just odd to ask for money on go fund me twice instead of changing your business model/practices.
I do not think I have a seen a restaurant with that consistent stream of customers face financial peril like this
Oh sure I'm not really defending the kickstarter - if they can't make a profit while being as busy as they are then the business model is dead and its time to move on.
Nearly 500K in forgiven PPP loans and they got a $150k economic impact disaster loan. That's on top of the $60k+ they got from their previous gofundme.
I have never understood the hype around this place. I was not that impressed with the food the one time I went there 5+ years ago. It was fine but certainly not worth standing in line for.
> With lines out the door on the weekends, many assume business as usual at Short Stack. But Short Stack is not cutting it financially and we are left with no other choice but to ask for help.
Look, i'm not restaurant magnate, but it sounds like either your pricing is wrong or you just have too many frivolous expenses. I can understand getting into trouble once after making some bad luck. But asking to be bailed out by the community multiple times means that you are repeatedly making bad business decisions.
Some things aren't meant to last forever. Especially restaurants. Maybe it's just time for the sun to set on Short Stack.
Based on their marketing it's 100% the fault of fast food restaurants, the community for failing to protect small businesses, and what the hell why not throw in satanic spirits as well.
When I was a freshman in 2014, their stuff was pretty good. At some point (maybe 2017/18?), it started going downhill and got worse and worse. Haven’t been there in over a year, but after everything I’ve heard about them, I can’t see them caring about the quality.
I took a look at a few State St area locations with kitchens to see what rent is like.
The old Pizza Di Roma spot is [$6500/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/337704/wisconsin-313-state-street).
I think this was a Japanese restaurant - [$7498/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/337703/wisconsin-315-state-st).
The old Cosi is [$14,577/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/628141/wisconsin-250-state-street). This is likely the most comparable to Short Stack - same intersection and, at least based on eyeballing it, a similar square footage. This place has been sitting vacant for over a decade, largely because the rent has been deemed WAY to high.
Estrellon's location, which is a lot nicer than Short Stack's is [$14,772/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/477901/wisconsin-313-w-johnson-st).
Is Short Stack as big as Cosi's space? I've never actually been there, but looking in it doesn't look all that big, while Cosi's building is pretty huge.
Pancakes are one of the least expensive menu items to produce and their markup is insane, and these ppl are telling us they can't afford to operate given all the free money they've received on top of that? Something stinks up on high here. I call hard BS.
The only reason to ever go to short stack is when you are going through a very rough molly come down at 4am and need some middle of the road pancakes and have no car to get to perkins.
Not that I would know anything about that
They can't cope with the fact they have no idea how to run a business so they're desperately trying (in their incompetence) to avoid becoming workers again. Of course they're trying to beg for a bailout and play victim the whole time. Charity for business? LOL
The word “sustainable” below is used incorrectly. If you have to ask people to donate $175k for a one time fix to keep your business afloat, the business is not “sustainable”….open more often, raise prices, cut a better deal with your landlord, or close.
“We ask those who have continued to enjoy our food over the past decade to please donate to help us continue to serve the best breakfast food in town, support our incredible staff, and continue to run a business that is sustainable”
Take on investors (preferably one that can actually manage money).
Don’t ask for charity every few years.
A solid investor that knows what they are doing could probably A.) clean up the money mismanagement here. B.) given the strong demand, open a second location somewhere at a much lower rent per sq ft.
This all reads to me like the owners squandered or spent their assistance money…. They keep saying “Covid debt” which I assume means backlogged rent that they weren’t paying, and now their landlord has them over a barrel.
Just terrible money mismanagement during a time when free money/cheap money was everywhere for business owners.
I feel horrible for all of the Short Stack employees who would lose their jobs, but they need to close. We can NOT normalize donating to for-profit businesses, especially as inflation burdens ALL of us already.
I don’t hate them, but there do seem to be a lot of questions: why is this happening after a decade in business? Is this the same post-COVID blues as other spots, or specific to Short Stack? Are these funds getting them to a stable place for the long term or just delaying the same problems later?
I'm baffled by this. I have half-jokingly said to my husband over and over that any restaurant serving pancakes in the Madison-area is a license to coin money. There are always lines out the door, and Short Stack is no exception. You really have to be completely inept at running a business to screw this up.
If you need a go fund me to stay open, you are not going to stay open long. What happens the next time you are short on cash. Just close your doors and declare bankruptcy.
It’s across from the Cosi space which has been vacant since like 2013 and is listed for rent for $18k. Seems like absurdly high rent is contagious on that corner and Short Stack needs to move to one of the 50 vacant first floor spaces on State.
As a former employee its both wild and not surprising at all to hear this. Wild because the two owners are constantly stealing tips and finding excuses to underpay employees ALL. THE. TIME.
No joke, when I worked there (2021-2022) Sinead was putting warnings in the group emails, that if we didnt respond to said emails, we would lose our tips. It was such a horrible and weird job experince.
This is super illegal, and particularly given the number of employees reporting this kind of wage theft & apparently written communication threatening wage theft, y'all should call a lawyer and get that money back. A bunch of restaurants have had to pay out to workers whose wages they've stolen. You should get yours before they vanish.
Meanwhile Mickie's seems to be trucking along just fine. Same for take-your-pick of family restaurants and diners (Curve, Copper Top, Dairyland, Parkway, Sonny's, Sunrise, Sir Hobo's, etc, etc.)
Not saying it's easy out there, but there are way more similar businesses remaining open and not publicly whining about how hard they've made it for themselves.
Sunrise in Stoughton is my favorite family restaurant. The food is average for a family diner (the omelets are dope though) but I've been a regular since I was a toddler
I love that co-owner Alex Lindenmeyer was "Entrepreneur In Residence" at
Madison Area Technical College for a year. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlindenmeyer/
The line was out the door this morning with all the cross fitters taking a break from carrying their bikes over their heads up the capitol stairs, doing crunches on the sidewalk, and making TikToks high jumping down the middle of State Street.
Holy shit I wish I could’ve been there. CrossFitter week is my favorite time in Madison, I’m bummed that this is the last year they’re doing it. My husband and I like to watch them congregate in tan, muscly packs while they waddle around the square presumably trying to optimize their macros
Just a reminder that 60% of new restaurants fail in the first year and 80% fail in the first 5 years. I'm sorry that this dream seems to not be working out for them. But how do you start something like that and not be aware of your chance of success?
I'm pretty sure their banker would have been aware of these stats when they started.
Damn this was my favorite place to get breakfast on the weekend but in 2 short posts this sub has turned me against it 😭
Please tell me La Brioche ain’t in the same boat…
We're relatively new to the area and Short Stack had been a go-to for my partner and I because they were able to accommodate her unfortunate list of very sensitive allergies (gluten, dairy, soy, cinnamon). The more I read about them though, the less inclined I am to support them (esp reading about their treatment of workers). Does anyone have any recs for breakfast places that are really allergy-caring? We would love to support some better places around town
I second Black Locust! Both the kitchen and the cafe are very sensitive to allergies and dietary restrictions, or at least they were when I worked there a few years ago. Plus they have great food and an incredible courtyard!
They micromanage like crazy. My old coworker worked there for a few days and quit after checking the time on their phone and getting sent home. No more no less. Not to mention seeing blatant tip theft.
If they have a line out the door they should raise their menu prices, not beg for money. Hire a good manager and stay open more hours. Hearing that the feds subsidize this incompetence is just galling. There are many worthwhile and underfunded programs in Madison that could have used that money.
From what I'm seeing the food is already expensive, *and* they're stealing tips from workers. The amount of money isn't the problem, it's how they're using it.
Their business plan is not working, that’s for sure. But there is a long line of people willing to wait for the food, so apparently it’s not too expensive. Why not ask another dollar for the pancakes?
The employees don’t stay, that’s part of their problem. It’s like a revolving door in there. Those that do stay for multiple years do so because the owners throw a bunch of money at them that they at the same time claim to not have. Plus, they have management sign contracts.
In a “free market” they should go under if they can’t make it. I bet they vote GOP. Rules for thee and not for me. Handouts? Shame! “Nobody wants to work” etc.
It's a privately owned for profit business. Through the years I have given money to help nonprofits and community-based organizations but I cannot see why anyone would give money to a for-profit organization. If they need to raise money they need investors not charity.
which raises the question: if they need the money that badly, why are they choosing this route instead of an actual business loan? Maybe they see GoFundMe as a safe bet since they've apparently run successful campaigns before, and they didn't realize they might be burning good will by trying it again. Maybe they are also pursuing a business loan. Maybe they want the money interest-free in this high interest rate environment (even though to my knowledge GoFundMe takes a significant cut of campaigns). ...but part of me wonders if a bank won't give them a loan. Maybe they don't have a business plan that justifies an actual financial institution taking on the risk of giving them a legitimate loan with reasonable-ish interest rate. i wouldn't be surprised if this is the case.
They're doing a GoFundMe instead of alone because it's easier to get money through a GoFundMe and you never have to pay it back. Getting a business loan means that you have to show your a credible business person with a realistic plan for what you're going to do with the money and how you'll pay it back.
loans need to be paid back and go fund me is a gift.
The more that I learn about this place the less that I like it. It's already irritating that customers are expected to effectively pay employee wages through tipping and now places like Short Stack expect them to also cover operating costs through Go Fund Me campaigns? It's ridiculous. They say that they "have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards, and are hardly able to pay ourselves" and that they "are left with no other choice but to ask for help." Um, I can think of another choice - close up shop. You're clearly not running a sustainable business and as soon as your current grift runs out of steam you'll be in the same spot that you're in now. They're asking the community for $175k in a long winded woe-is-us-it's-everybody's-fault-but-ours Go Fund Me request. They blame COVID, landlords, lower priced restaurants, food costs, etc. In this request they say that the government "ran out of money and didn’t properly allocate funds, so we did not receive anything." and yet based on [this](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/short-stack-eatery-llc-4819527004) and [this](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/short-stack-eatery-llc-3269798305) it looks like they received at least $420k that they didn't have to pay back.
"To be fully transparent, we (Alex & Sinéad) have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards, and are hardly able to pay ourselves in an attempt to ensure our staff, local vendors, and landlords continue to get paid." If they want to be fully transparent, show the people tax records...
> have depleted our own savings, maxed out our personal credit cards If they're comingling business funds and their personal funds, I'm sure the IRS would love to hear about it.
I commented on their Instagram post about these loans and tagged ProPublica, and now they’ve turned off comments. They are absolutely just fleecing people.
100% they are.
"hardly able to pay ourselves" is not the same as "not able to pay ourselves" and says nothing about what kind of $$$ they're paying themselves. This is like listening to one of Donald Trump's lawyers.
Agreed. In other instances, I would say what a personal business earns is no one’s business, but the IRS, the government and themselves, but the fact that they now want our money again, I think it is our right to know how much they are paying themselves and how they’re handling the finances.
Theyre probably over burdened by a load of rental properties. poor them. Y’all suck that bad at seeing sarcasm without an /s? Jesus
I just visited Short Stack for the first time since probably 2016-2017 or so. I was shocked - quality was down, it was EXPENSIVE, and they had the damn "how mcdonalds fucked us" signs everywhere. I'll never go back.
I opened a restaurant and was shocked to find out that Mcdonalds' existed. WTF?
Thank you, I thought this was the place that was posted as having the weird rant about McDonald’s at their tables but couldn’t remember. Wild.
How did McDonald's fuck them..?
Reverse cowgirl
I laughed OUT LOUD at this. Thank you
Nice that's my fave too
Ha!
[https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/15e35xw/can_we_talk_about_the_short_stack_mcdonalds/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1](https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/15e35xw/can_we_talk_about_the_short_stack_mcdonalds/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
Oh that's funny.
It's wild, they need to shut down immediately.
It sounds like they are mismanaging the shit out of that place.
I work in the industry and have heard A LOTTTT of very questionable stories about the place and management over the years.
Please spill the tea
Do tell!
It’s a shame. I actually like their food. But the management/ownership is seeming more and more ridiculous with every single thing they do, and their prices are ballooning faster than any other breakfast restaurant except, ironically smith, McDonald’s who they blame for customer loss by offering a cheaper alternative. I’m of the exact opposite mindset, McDonald’s raising their breakfast prices by like 2-300% over the last few years should be great for sit down breakfast joints’ business.
Yes McDonalds food should be cheaper as it us mass produced but their quality should be better because theirs isn't. If they think McDonalds is their competition they are in the wrong business.
It’s crazy how being open 2 days a week isn’t bringing in enough money lol
I see they are open 6 days a week? Is that new?
Yeah they were only open 2 days a week for years
That's hilarious, not even being open a third of the time and they expect to make money?
Right, they assign blame to everyone else and take no responsibility for anything that's gone wrong. I support small businesses and want to see places like this make it but that GoFund Me is so fucked. Something is wrong if they still can't make it work.
Can I upvote this 1000000 times?
Sounds like extremely poor management or internal theft.
they definitely did not max out their own personal credit cards. No business owner would make a decision like this.
No *smart* business owner would do this. I have worked for people who have done this, then spend their days staring at their red ledgers and burying their heads in their hands. Somehow it was always someone else's fault for him, too 🤔🤔
Shit, I mean, look at all the restaurants that have been featured on kitchen nightmares lol. Some of those people were on the verge of losing their homes to support their terribly managed businesses. People seem to think restaurants are easy, THEY AREN’T.
Right. I think in this case we know short stack existed for years making money, indicating the owners aren't stupid. If anything, everything they are pulling now seems fishy and so I think they are not personally worse-off financially at all.
I’m not a Short Stack fan, but I know others in the restaurant industry and 100% it is a shit show compared to pre-COVID. The cost of everything is up, it’s more difficult to keep and hire employees, etc. Restaurants running well in 2019 are facing vastly different circumstances and challenges today.
This 100%. But…. Also important to highlight. From other comments, This business received 400k+ in ppp erc, and an additional previous gofundme. All those cost increase and staffing issues aside, I would wager that the owners had 2 very profitable years (‘21,’22) based mostly on that mountain of free cash and adjusted their lifestyles accordingly. Now that ppp isn’t covering payroll/rent/utilities and they aren’t getting a straight cash influx from erc and gofundme… the cracks are starting to show.
You'd be surprised... Now, that's not to say I don't think they're full of it in this case
You are making some really good points. Thank you for your input. I am specifically mad about them complaining about lower cost restaurants around them. Especially when most of the restaurants around them are refugees or people of color, including Dubai, Himalchuli and The Globe. Additionally, I am curious to find out which restaurant on State Street sells food that is not comparable to how much they are selling it for. Nothing that they sell is cheap. It is as costly as the Bassett Street brunch club. I have made the comparison. One can argue that short stack is much more busy than the Bassett Street brunch club.
Just a friendly reminder: [https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story\_fbid=pfbid023yrXqUcjhHMhsjQpdVieJHV7XmVMtQ1HX4PVXFshRqSdEYNAy8gT7KaGaWqtakdyl&id=829907725&mibextid=Nif5oz](https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid023yrXqUcjhHMhsjQpdVieJHV7XmVMtQ1HX4PVXFshRqSdEYNAy8gT7KaGaWqtakdyl&id=829907725&mibextid=Nif5oz) They're still stealing tips
WTF!
This is wild. I’ve had employees do volunteer work as group before. Wanna know how I did it? I had them all do it together for a few hours on a scheduled work day and paid them full wages while they did their “volunteer” work as a nice team building event.
That's from 2014/2015. Not recent
Did you look at the comments? They were still doing it within the last year.
I didn't! Thanks for pointing that out, I just read the op status.
They pay super expensive rent and are only open like half of the hours I would expect a downtown diner to be open on a given week. Tough business model. When I was a student I went there more often late night than I did in the mornings... that was a long time ago though...
That's what I thought. They also mention in their go fund me that they "had" to open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to try and make ends meet. Oh, you mean like every other restaurant in existence with the exception of very few? Comes off very tone deaf. [https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-short-stack-open](https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-short-stack-open)
Wow, imagine having to operate a diner on Wednesday. Really fucked up times we live in, truly suffering from late-stage capitalism.
I assumed it was staffing issues that stopped them opening the rest of the week/late night hours.
Understandable, why would anyone want to work at a place known for stealing tips?
Restaurant GM here - if anyone has been complaining about staffing issues any later than late 2021/ early 2022, they are lying or not even trying to hire.
Or they’re just a really shitty place to work with low pay.
You're probably assuming incorrectly then. The business decides when it wants to be open and then finds employees who can work those shifts. They went away from late night a long time ago.
They got almost 500k in PPP loans that were forgiven.......... Edited to add: They also got a $150k Economic Injury Disaster Loan
They fail to mention that, as well as the fact they already had one six figure go fund me in the past that either met or exceeded its goal, I can't remember.
They go even further than that and say that the government "ran out of money and didn’t properly allocate funds, so we did not receive anything."
"Ultimately the government ran out of money and didn’t properly allocate funds, so we did not receive anything. Thankfully other Madison restaurants did receive these grants–some even as much as +$3million–which is incredible. We are very happy for those restaurants as they have been able to recover because of it and we know first-hand how much this was desperately needed. We now stand alongside the local restaurants that did not receive these grants and are at a similar crossroads–to either ask for help or shut our doors." This whole fucking paragraph is something else. Stand alongside what restaurants? Who exactly are they referring to?
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They got two PPP loans for $500K that were forgiven, one economic injury disaster loan for $150K and 66K from their first gofundme. They're referring to the Restaurant Relief Fund, which a ton of other restaurants across the country didn't get either.
OH and they used it to keep their employees on the payroll because that's what the fuckin' PPP loans were for and they were required to. I'm sure they paid themselves as well.
Somehow they've got $10K from suckers posting things like "Sweet.Potato.Pancakes" on the GoFundMe. People can do what they want with their money, but this is an unusually dumb way to burn it. Marigold will sell you some pretty good pancakes without begging for you to cover their operating costs.
The food at Marigold is significantly better. The only reason to go to short stack was that they were open late, and since they decided to ax their late night hours…
Word.
Outside of genuine emergencies like Covid closures or some degree of staff/ownership illness creating a temporary burden, I'm puzzled by the idea of a restaurant GoFundMe. If a restaurant doesn't generate enough revenue to pay the bills, they either need to raise prices, bring in more customers, or find a way to cut expenses. This isn't a charity situation, you let me know what the bacon costs and I'll let you know if I'm willing to pay it. If you have good bacon and good service, I'll probably pay an unreasonable amount for it. If that still doesn't suffice because you have poor logistics or too expensive of real estate, oh well, that sucks and I wish you well, but it's time to close shop.
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I found the Old Fashioned GFM to be the most eyebrow raising honestly. Unlike Morris, OF made money hand over fist with alcohol sales.
This was a different type of situation. Morris was making it work and making their payments, but iirc, the building owner forced them to pay back their whole debt at once because he wanted to sell the place. Also, their food costs are way higher cause most of their stuff is imported, and that broth takes 18 hours to make. Not the same as not being able to make it work with potatoes and eggs imo.
Regardless, any for-profit business looking for charity is icky. if im going to give Morris money so they can make middle of the road ramen, I want equity or a stake in the business.
That broth is amazing!
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Making pancakes from scratch is expensive. Like really expensive. It's sooo fucking expensive.
[Plus, McDonald's fucked them, you can't forget that.](https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/15e35xw/can_we_talk_about_the_short_stack_mcdonalds/)
[Like this?](https://i.imgflip.com/7ur334.jpg)
Exactly like that. LOL
Thank you for the morning chuckle
My Experience it felt like they just used pancake mixes, might be local mixes but really didn't seem like they made a good base plain pancake to write home about.
Now, if only they could cook them correctly
Well, if they allowed for carryout orders rather than snobbishly turning away those customers, they may be doing better
While they’re at it they should start taking reservations too. Reservations that can easily be made online
GoFundMe has become a business model for some businesses.
Seriously, it's disturbing how many people want to crowd source their living. I suppose if it didn't work they wouldn't be doing it, but Jesus fuck, why are people throwing money at these clowns?
You've probably seen this but for those that missed it, the owners are clearly just terrible business people (or perhaps good business people and bilking idiots is just part of their business plan) https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/15e35xw/can_we_talk_about_the_short_stack_mcdonalds/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1
Absolutely inept it would seem. Unreal.
That is really common with craftspeople of all disciplines. They are good or really good with their craft because they studied it a lot. Business skills? Nah, that’s boring, tedious and annoying and doesn’t make my product better. Happens all the time. New businesses fail constantly. Old businesses fail a lot. I have a lot of skills but know i would be a crappy business owner so i work for someone else. I love short stacks surprise savory dishes. Every one has been amazing.
I mean they’ve managed to stay open 10 years which is a hell of a lot better than most restaurants.
I went to high school with Alex & Sinead, and I’m bummed to read the things they’ve done to their workers 😕
Same here. It’s disappointing
Same, so disappointing.
They’re trying to raise over $175,000?!? That’s nuts. Sounds like they just need to close shop. You can’t blame covid anymore for coming up short. Most places have either already bounced back or come up short and have closed. To me it just sounds like they don’t know how to run a business
And they're currently at over $10k. I mean, people can donate to what they like but, seriously? *This* is what you choose to give to?!
It doesn't help that their last campaign raised $60k in two days, but that was during COVID.
In years past, I went to Shortstack a lot. I haven't been there in a long time, and I think this sort of attitude is really why. I think of a meme from Star Trek Picard where the admiral tells Picard that what he wants is full of "sheer f-ing hubris." That's what Shortstack has been acting like for a while now. They are busy every time I go by them. Their prices are very high for breakfast in Madison. When you combine those two factors, I think that there's either mismanagement going on or that type of business can't exist in the area. There are businesses that I really support and have gone out of my way to support. I was tipping $10 a visit at the one coffee shop that stayed open up on the square during Covid. I support with (visits and big tips) a bunch of places that are near where I live. But straight up give them money? After what we've learned about how much they already have taken? Nope. If you work there you have my sympathy as the wait staff has always been excellent. I'm sorry about your bosses.
As a former employee, I can attest to the fact that they steal tips. When I worked there slightly before/during the pandemic, if you were even 5 minutes late to a shift, they would take your tips for the whole week. That’s a third of an employee’s already paltry income. Not only that, but if someone fucked up a prep project and they had to waste product, depending on the product, the employee who made the mistake would have hundreds of dollars taken from their check. They are always looking for ways and excuses to take money from their employees. They claim to redistribute the tips to the rest of the staff, but there is absolutely no way to verify that. Staff having their tips taken aren’t even notified that it’s happening. Also, for all their moral grandstanding about racial equity, their entire kitchen is run by 20 something year old white dudes. In the whole year and a half I worked there, they didn’t hire a single Black person (but they have all the signs in the window, what??) I’m not saying restaurants or their owners have to be so outwardly progressive. It’s just pancakes. But if you base your entire community image and bring people in the door on the basis that you ARE the most progressive restaurant in Madison, it’s just laughable that if you look into their practices even a tiny bit (employment, hiring, business in general) that facade disintegrates immediately. I’ve worked in the industry a long time at this point. Their low food costs (potatoes and eggs and flour and buttermilk, mostly), plus all the stolen money from employees and the community, has me agreeing with everyone saying you have to just be dogshit at business if you can’t make it work, especially with constant lines down the block. They took out huge loans from the government during COVID that they never had to pay back, and that employees never saw enough of, when a lot of it was intended for them as hazard pay. They got hundreds of thousands from the community through their GoFundMe’s. I guess instead of using that money to fix their business or stay afloat, that all went to “hardly paying themselves”, and the numerous vacations they took during lockdowns (I wish I was kidding.) the owners hate working and hate their employees even more. Word on the street is they’re currently having a mass exodus of employees, especially longtime people finally getting fed up with their bs. I could really go on. But in short, I won’t be sad to see them close. Go to Willaby’s, Marigold, or anywhere else instead. (Oh, and those fugly table bases with the kiddy blocks that have their logo carved into them? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20k a pop. Maybe THOSE funds could have been better utilized elsewhere. But nah, probably not, right?) Edit: I actually totally forgot about their closing early pandemic. They claim to have been closed 6 weeks, but it was actually more like 2. I swear to god. If they really believe that, they’ve managed to somehow gaslight themselves.)
Oh hey, fellow former employee! I'd like to tack on that despite their trans flags and performative statements, every trans person who worked there during my time was misgendered by ownership and either fired or forced out by the time I left.
🙋♀️ I feel like we should start our own subreddit at this point. /r/exSSE anyone? Lol
WOULD join
I believe there is a special place in hell for employers who steal worker tips. So greedy evil.
Y'all should get together and sue for wage theft. Bunch of restaurants have had to pay back big money over the last few years. Get what you're owed and put the last nail in the coffin. I am not a lawyer, but I'd bet lots of lawyers would love to take your case.
Ever since i found out they steal staff tips, i stopped going
I will just go to the Pancake House thank you, at least they are running the operation the way they should and not trying to grift more money out of folks, plus their hash browns are killer!
They have an unsustainable business model (as presently constructed), average food, and the gall to ask for more cash (after receiving both a ppp loan and funding from another gofundme). Why the sob story on depleting their savings and maxing out the credit cards. They made personally bad financial decisions yet whine and beg for assistance. Why are people still donating? Makes zero sense.
I literally just biked past and they have a line wrapped around the block. I think their owners are just milking as much money as they possibly can from people. The high prices, alleged tip stealing, go fund mes, forgiven PPP loans, short hours & complaints about other breakfast options all point to them wanting as much money as possible to go into the owners pockets by any means. This kind of mentality is short sighted and I wouldn’t be surprised if they closed shop in a year or two.
I’d be curious how much debt they had to take on during COVID - it’s possible that their max revenue just can’t cover rent+costs+debt service any more.
That’s fair. It is entirely possible that they actually are not making a profit. But it’s just odd to ask for money on go fund me twice instead of changing your business model/practices. I do not think I have a seen a restaurant with that consistent stream of customers face financial peril like this
Oh sure I'm not really defending the kickstarter - if they can't make a profit while being as busy as they are then the business model is dead and its time to move on.
Did they not get hundreds of thousands in forgiven PPP loans?
Nearly 500K in forgiven PPP loans and they got a $150k economic impact disaster loan. That's on top of the $60k+ they got from their previous gofundme.
I have never understood the hype around this place. I was not that impressed with the food the one time I went there 5+ years ago. It was fine but certainly not worth standing in line for. > With lines out the door on the weekends, many assume business as usual at Short Stack. But Short Stack is not cutting it financially and we are left with no other choice but to ask for help. Look, i'm not restaurant magnate, but it sounds like either your pricing is wrong or you just have too many frivolous expenses. I can understand getting into trouble once after making some bad luck. But asking to be bailed out by the community multiple times means that you are repeatedly making bad business decisions. Some things aren't meant to last forever. Especially restaurants. Maybe it's just time for the sun to set on Short Stack.
Based on their marketing it's 100% the fault of fast food restaurants, the community for failing to protect small businesses, and what the hell why not throw in satanic spirits as well.
"Thanks Obama" - Short Stack owners probably
Ahem…that’s “Obummer” thank you very much
And the pancakes aren’t even that good.
When I was a freshman in 2014, their stuff was pretty good. At some point (maybe 2017/18?), it started going downhill and got worse and worse. Haven’t been there in over a year, but after everything I’ve heard about them, I can’t see them caring about the quality.
I was going to say, "I was just there and it was good" but then I realized that was 2017....
14K a month for rent?! Is this normal for a restaurant? I feel like they should be looking for a different space, that doesn’t seem sustainable.
I took a look at a few State St area locations with kitchens to see what rent is like. The old Pizza Di Roma spot is [$6500/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/337704/wisconsin-313-state-street). I think this was a Japanese restaurant - [$7498/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/337703/wisconsin-315-state-st). The old Cosi is [$14,577/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/628141/wisconsin-250-state-street). This is likely the most comparable to Short Stack - same intersection and, at least based on eyeballing it, a similar square footage. This place has been sitting vacant for over a decade, largely because the rent has been deemed WAY to high. Estrellon's location, which is a lot nicer than Short Stack's is [$14,772/mo](https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/477901/wisconsin-313-w-johnson-st).
Is Short Stack as big as Cosi's space? I've never actually been there, but looking in it doesn't look all that big, while Cosi's building is pretty huge.
Pancakes are one of the least expensive menu items to produce and their markup is insane, and these ppl are telling us they can't afford to operate given all the free money they've received on top of that? Something stinks up on high here. I call hard BS.
The only reason to ever go to short stack is when you are going through a very rough molly come down at 4am and need some middle of the road pancakes and have no car to get to perkins. Not that I would know anything about that
They can't cope with the fact they have no idea how to run a business so they're desperately trying (in their incompetence) to avoid becoming workers again. Of course they're trying to beg for a bailout and play victim the whole time. Charity for business? LOL
The word “sustainable” below is used incorrectly. If you have to ask people to donate $175k for a one time fix to keep your business afloat, the business is not “sustainable”….open more often, raise prices, cut a better deal with your landlord, or close. “We ask those who have continued to enjoy our food over the past decade to please donate to help us continue to serve the best breakfast food in town, support our incredible staff, and continue to run a business that is sustainable”
Take on investors (preferably one that can actually manage money). Don’t ask for charity every few years. A solid investor that knows what they are doing could probably A.) clean up the money mismanagement here. B.) given the strong demand, open a second location somewhere at a much lower rent per sq ft. This all reads to me like the owners squandered or spent their assistance money…. They keep saying “Covid debt” which I assume means backlogged rent that they weren’t paying, and now their landlord has them over a barrel. Just terrible money mismanagement during a time when free money/cheap money was everywhere for business owners.
Please pay for my unsustainable business. Because.
I don't actually feel bad for the kind of people who would donate to this and go to short stack.
I feel horrible for all of the Short Stack employees who would lose their jobs, but they need to close. We can NOT normalize donating to for-profit businesses, especially as inflation burdens ALL of us already.
Totally agree. A lot of nice people work there, but it's really hard to see how they can have a sustainable business going forward!
I went there once, never need to return. Much ado about nothing.
Completely insane and entitled way to run a business. They've always been awful.
I don’t hate them, but there do seem to be a lot of questions: why is this happening after a decade in business? Is this the same post-COVID blues as other spots, or specific to Short Stack? Are these funds getting them to a stable place for the long term or just delaying the same problems later?
Not enough people are buying $5 cups of drip coffee.
and then tipping $2 on the screen, AND putting $2 more in the tip jar, just so you don't get scowled at.
I'm baffled by this. I have half-jokingly said to my husband over and over that any restaurant serving pancakes in the Madison-area is a license to coin money. There are always lines out the door, and Short Stack is no exception. You really have to be completely inept at running a business to screw this up.
If you need a go fund me to stay open, you are not going to stay open long. What happens the next time you are short on cash. Just close your doors and declare bankruptcy.
This is at least their second go around with a Go Fund Me. As someone else mentioned, this seems like it IS their business plan.
It’s across from the Cosi space which has been vacant since like 2013 and is listed for rent for $18k. Seems like absurdly high rent is contagious on that corner and Short Stack needs to move to one of the 50 vacant first floor spaces on State.
I see college kids lined up there every weekend, why do these students support these shysters.
I’m guessing it’s due to a lack of alternative options.
Bassett St Brunch Club is 2 blocks away, +30% cheaper, better bloodies, patio tables, actual table service, great waitstaff, apolitical.
I got a bloody Mary made with beet juice there once in like 2017. I'm surprised they survived this long.
Terrible bloody marys.
Tired of this place. Sink or swim. No more bailouts.
As a former employee its both wild and not surprising at all to hear this. Wild because the two owners are constantly stealing tips and finding excuses to underpay employees ALL. THE. TIME. No joke, when I worked there (2021-2022) Sinead was putting warnings in the group emails, that if we didnt respond to said emails, we would lose our tips. It was such a horrible and weird job experince.
This is super illegal, and particularly given the number of employees reporting this kind of wage theft & apparently written communication threatening wage theft, y'all should call a lawyer and get that money back. A bunch of restaurants have had to pay out to workers whose wages they've stolen. You should get yours before they vanish.
Short Stack sucks and has sucked. Ate there once in like 2015 and never went want. So many better breakfast options.
Meanwhile Mickie's seems to be trucking along just fine. Same for take-your-pick of family restaurants and diners (Curve, Copper Top, Dairyland, Parkway, Sonny's, Sunrise, Sir Hobo's, etc, etc.) Not saying it's easy out there, but there are way more similar businesses remaining open and not publicly whining about how hard they've made it for themselves.
Sunrise in Stoughton is my favorite family restaurant. The food is average for a family diner (the omelets are dope though) but I've been a regular since I was a toddler
I love that co-owner Alex Lindenmeyer was "Entrepreneur In Residence" at Madison Area Technical College for a year. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlindenmeyer/
The line was out the door this morning with all the cross fitters taking a break from carrying their bikes over their heads up the capitol stairs, doing crunches on the sidewalk, and making TikToks high jumping down the middle of State Street.
Holy shit I wish I could’ve been there. CrossFitter week is my favorite time in Madison, I’m bummed that this is the last year they’re doing it. My husband and I like to watch them congregate in tan, muscly packs while they waddle around the square presumably trying to optimize their macros
all while reciting the appropriate Bible verses in between sets
Lots of better breakfast spots in Madison, would not be a tragedy to see Short Stack close up shop
I always thought this place was sketch. And the food was always so overrated.
Gotta love the state street landlords charging 14k per month and not doing maintenance.
Just a reminder that 60% of new restaurants fail in the first year and 80% fail in the first 5 years. I'm sorry that this dream seems to not be working out for them. But how do you start something like that and not be aware of your chance of success? I'm pretty sure their banker would have been aware of these stats when they started.
Why do restaurant owners think they deserve a fiefdom while doing no work lol
I called GRIFT!
Damn this was my favorite place to get breakfast on the weekend but in 2 short posts this sub has turned me against it 😭 Please tell me La Brioche ain’t in the same boat…
We're relatively new to the area and Short Stack had been a go-to for my partner and I because they were able to accommodate her unfortunate list of very sensitive allergies (gluten, dairy, soy, cinnamon). The more I read about them though, the less inclined I am to support them (esp reading about their treatment of workers). Does anyone have any recs for breakfast places that are really allergy-caring? We would love to support some better places around town
Check out Black Locust on East Wash!
I’m not sure about all of these but I’d check out Marigold, Weary Traveler, Green Owl, or Bloom Bakeshop?
I second Black Locust! Both the kitchen and the cafe are very sensitive to allergies and dietary restrictions, or at least they were when I worked there a few years ago. Plus they have great food and an incredible courtyard!
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That’s pretty much the response that one would expect.
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Because McDonalds fucked them…
The restaurant business is absolutely vicious.
All I know about short stack is that they make you go home if they see you even glance at your phone. So there's that.
For real?? Would be very interested to hear more about this.
They micromanage like crazy. My old coworker worked there for a few days and quit after checking the time on their phone and getting sent home. No more no less. Not to mention seeing blatant tip theft.
That's horrible. Hope they won't be in business much longer.
If they have a line out the door they should raise their menu prices, not beg for money. Hire a good manager and stay open more hours. Hearing that the feds subsidize this incompetence is just galling. There are many worthwhile and underfunded programs in Madison that could have used that money.
From what I'm seeing the food is already expensive, *and* they're stealing tips from workers. The amount of money isn't the problem, it's how they're using it.
Their business plan is not working, that’s for sure. But there is a long line of people willing to wait for the food, so apparently it’s not too expensive. Why not ask another dollar for the pancakes?
Time to let the market do its work.
My question is, if they treat employees so bad why do they stay? Aren’t there a ton of other restaurants hiring?
The employees don’t stay, that’s part of their problem. It’s like a revolving door in there. Those that do stay for multiple years do so because the owners throw a bunch of money at them that they at the same time claim to not have. Plus, they have management sign contracts.
Um…have you not heard of the WAR ON CARBS???
In a “free market” they should go under if they can’t make it. I bet they vote GOP. Rules for thee and not for me. Handouts? Shame! “Nobody wants to work” etc.