The strike that eight Tasty Buddha restaurant employees began last week formally ended Saturday when franchise owner Parker Van Hart agreed to honor most of their demands.
“I am pleased and relieved to announce a mutually beneficial and satisfactory agreement has been reached and all parties involved are anxious to get back to work starting tomorrow,” Van Hart wrote on the Tasty Buddha Facebook page Sunday evening.
The two parties reached a compromise Saturday over the employees’ demand for consistent paychecks, Van Hart said. The strike started after three employees’ paychecks bounced July 19.
Van Hart said he agreed to pay employees an inconvenience fee should another paycheck go bad.
Mo Sherman, a 24-year-old cook at Tasty Buddha, said the inconvenience fee amount is $35, which an employee will receive if a check doesn’t clear.
Van Hart said the flat fee is enough to “take them out to dinner and buy them a couple of beers.”
Van Hart also said the staff met to clear up discrepancies in the company’s harassment policy.
“By the end of the meeting Sunday, we were all on the same page,” he said.
The strike has worsened Tasty Buddha’s financial state, Van Hart said. Two potential investors backed out after the incident, he said.
Returning employees have agreed to do what they can to bring customers back to the restaurant, Sherman said.
“We encourage everyone in the community who used to eat there or who has never eaten there to come and support Tasty Buddha,” Sherman said. “Workers are happy, and happy workers make happy food.”
Seven of the eight employees who went on strike will return to Tasty Buddha. One employee quit to focus on her studies, Van Hart said.
