Edge Craft BBQ

[Jersey Boss]

https://kfor.com/news/local/local-bb...own-employees/ I'll never go back. I'm sure I won't be the only one. If an employee stole a sum this large they would be looking at a few years in DOC custody.

[gjl]

Making payments to pay it back.

[Huenokc]

https://kfor.com/news/local/local-bb...own-employees/ I'll never go back. I'm sure I won't be the only one. If an employee stole a sum this large they would be looking at a few years in DOC custody.

Agreed. The owner sure was flippant about the incident during the interview. My rule #1 is you take care of the people that are taking care of your customers. There are too many good BBQ spots in the metro,

[rayvaflav]

Oh man, I hate to see this. I went there yesterday for lunch at 11:45 and the line went to the east side of the building and down the attaching wall to the bathroom corner area. I couldn't stay that long.

[Plutonic Panda]

Making payments to pay it back.

They are now that they got exposed. That’s a bummer cause this was a good place and I went there a lot. I really hate to see this. I probably won’t ever go back there now(or at least for a while).

[OkieBerto]

I agree this looks horrible and they clearly need to be better about how they speak about it. I do not think this will keep people from going and I have a feeling some won’t even know this happened. A can’t speak for anyone else, but I hardly read the news these days.

[gjl]

I didn't say making payments in a good way. If he has to make payments he should get a loan and get the money back to the employees now and make his payments to the lender.

[Thomas Vu]

Agreed. The owner sure was flippant about the incident during the interview. My rule #1 is you take care of the people that are taking care of your customers. There are too many good BBQ spots in the metro,

Where are these good spots? I might have to drive out to wellston now. I thought edgecraft was far and away the best for texas style, but haven't looked at the scene in the last couple of years.

[catcherinthewry]

Where are these good spots? I might have to drive out to wellston now. I thought edgecraft was far and away the best for texas style, but haven't looked at the scene in the last couple of years.

The only one that I've found that is close to Edge Craft in the metro area is Oklahoma Smoke that is on 19th St in Moore, but they are planning on moving to the old Del Rancho site on Main St. They also have a place in The Stockyards, but I haven't tried it.

[ChaseDweller]

Lots of companies get caught in these labor investigations. It doesn't necessarily mean they were actively trying to screw their employees. It just means they weren't strictly following wage and hour laws. This can get uber technical for the employers and the DOL can get very aggressive with enforcement. Sometimes even the employees don't agree with what the DOL makes the employer do or pay. If he's working to rectify the situation by paying the back pay to the DOL, that's all you can expect.

[Pete]

Lots of companies get caught in these labor investigations. It doesn't necessarily mean they were actively trying to screw their employees. It just means they weren't strictly following wage and hour laws. This can get uber technical for the employers and the DOL can get very aggressive with enforcement. Sometimes even the employees don't agree with what the DOL makes the employer do or pay. If he's working to rectify the situation by paying the back pay to the DOL, that's all you can expect.

ChaseDweller knows.


Zach seems like a good dude and has added something very much needed to our restaurant scene.

People should give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Plutonic Panda]

That’s good to know because when I went there, they went out of their way to provide amazing customer service. Oklahoma has a lot of screwed up government agencies. ABLE to name one.

[Roger S]

EdgeCraft will be fine... Swadley's stole more than this from the Oklahoma taxpayers and hasn't offered to pay any of it back.

[catcherinthewry]

EdgeCraft will be fine... Swadley's stole more than this from the Oklahoma taxpayers and hasn't offered to pay any of it back.

^This. Plus they serve mediocre BBQ.

[Teo9969]

^This. Plus they serve mediocre BBQ.

Much worse, in my opinion

[catcherinthewry]

Much worse, in my opinion

I was trying to be nice!

[Jersey Boss]

Lots of companies get caught in these labor investigations. It doesn't necessarily mean they were actively trying to screw their employees. It just means they weren't strictly following wage and hour laws. This can get uber technical for the employers and the DOL can get very aggressive with enforcement. Sometimes even the employees don't agree with what the DOL makes the employer do or pay. If he's working to rectify the situation by paying the back pay to the DOL, that's all you can expect.

I understand the point you are making about labor laws being technical especially the issue of non exempt and exempt classification of employees.
However I fail to understand any rationalization of stealing tips from the help by the owner.

[ChaseDweller]

I understand the point you are making about labor laws being technical especially the issue of non exempt and exempt classification of employees.
However I fail to understand any rationalization of stealing tips from the help by the owner.

Pure speculation on my part, but it could be that the employees were ok with it if he was paying them a reasonable wage. They get certainty and a level income rather than relying on the vagaries of tips and how many customers come in. He keeps the tips to make up some of the difference. It's illegal, but it's possible and looked at in that light, it's not really stealing from the employees. As I said, this is pure speculation from me but I could see it happening.

I had a client that was letting his employees take their lunch hour in chunks as they saw fit rather than all at once. The employees loved it. The DOL showed up and made him pay them for all the lunches they "missed" because he wasn't giving them a true lunch hour. They also fined him on top of that. The employees and the employer hated the result, but there was nothing anyone could do and it cost my client a fortune.

Just saying that it's not always as clear cut as you think.

[Will Dearborn]

Not paying overtime to an eligible employee working more than 40 hours a week seems pretty clear cut.

[Jeepnokc]

Not paying overtime to an eligible employee working more than 40 hours a week seems pretty clear cut.

not necessarily. There are exemptions for different salaried employees but apparently the pitmaster didn't fall under one

[Jersey Boss]

Pure speculation on my part, but it could be that the employees were ok with it if he was paying them a reasonable wage. They get certainty and a level income rather than relying on the vagaries of tips and how many customers come in. He keeps the tips to make up some of the difference. It's illegal, but it's possible and looked at in that light, it's not really stealing from the employees. As I said, this is pure speculation from me but I could see it happening.

I had a client that was letting his employees take their lunch hour in chunks as they saw fit rather than all at once. The employees loved it. The DOL showed up and made him pay them for all the lunches they "missed" because he wasn't giving them a true lunch hour. They also fined him on top of that. The employees and the employer hated the result, but there was nothing anyone could do and it cost my client a fortune.

Just saying that it's not always as clear cut as you think.

It really is stealing and that is why it is illegal and unethical.
He has been in business for some years and is in his 40's. He knows what time it is. I would speculate he has an accountant as well.

[Will Dearborn]

not necessarily. There are exemptions for different salaried employees but apparently the pitmaster didn't fall under one

Right, that's what I meant by "eligible" - the article above also refers to "employees" so assume it wasn't just the pit master that didn't get paid owed overtime.

I'm reading the lack of overtime pay and keeping the tips as two separate violations but would defer to experts like CD if that's a related scheme.

[ManAboutTown]

https://kfor.com/news/local/local-bb...own-employees/ I'll never go back. I'm sure I won't be the only one. If an employee stole a sum this large they would be looking at a few years in DOC custody.

I doubt I patronize this spot again. There is ZERO chance that the proprietor did not know he should not keep the tips meant for the servers. NONE.

His flippant attitude about it and saying it was "a bunch of B.S." is pretty telling.

[jedicurt]

Pure speculation on my part, but it could be that the employees were ok with it if he was paying them a reasonable wage. They get certainty and a level income rather than relying on the vagaries of tips and how many customers come in. He keeps the tips to make up some of the difference. It's illegal, but it's possible and looked at in that light, it's not really stealing from the employees. As I said, this is pure speculation from me but I could see it happening.

I had a client that was letting his employees take their lunch hour in chunks as they saw fit rather than all at once. The employees loved it. The DOL showed up and made him pay them for all the lunches they "missed" because he wasn't giving them a true lunch hour. They also fined him on top of that. The employees and the employer hated the result, but there was nothing anyone could do and it cost my client a fortune.

Just saying that it's not always as clear cut as you think.

if that was the case, there are legal ways to do that. it's a matter of posting so that customers know. i know of a place that has it posted that tips added to the bill will be given 50% to listed charity and 50% to the business itself, and it is clearly listed that the employees do not receive the tips as they are paid an agreed upon wage.

but doing this where you don't inform me the customer where my tips are going, that still makes it illegal even if the employee and employer agree to it.

[Thomas Vu]

The only one that I've found that is close to Edge Craft in the metro area is Oklahoma Smoke that is on 19th St in Moore, but they are planning on moving to the old Del Rancho site on Main St. They also have a place in The Stockyards, but I haven't tried it.

I'll give it a go sometime!

Pete tends to be a pretty good at reading these situations. I'll come back if this doens't pan.