Hotel 10 Restaurant Jargo Declares Bankruptcy, Employee Alleges Bounced Paycheques

An anonymous ex-employee of Jargo, a restaurant that recently closed after less than eight months, has come forward with charges against the troubled project inside Hotel 10. The restaurant operated independently of the hotel, located on the corner of Sherbrooke and Saint-Laurent.

In an email sent to Eater last week (portions of which have been edited for clarity below), the ex-staff member alleges gross mismanagement of funds by Jargo's partners and asserts that the business declared bankruptcy on January 6 and withheld pay from employees before Christmas as well as tips from corporate events.

"After our shifts on December 19, we were given our paycheques. They were postdated to December 24. On December 30 my bank informed me that my cheque had insufficient funds."

"I would say 90% of the staff that received a paycheque during the holidays had insufficient funds. I believe suppliers were not paid as well. Ironically if you go to the Facebook page of Jargo [no longer active] you can see pictures of the dancers that were hired for New Year's Eve. I guess they had the money to pay DJs and dancers and not the staff."

Hotel 10 staff directed calls about the matter to bankruptcy trustee Labelle Marquis Inc. The firm promptly confirmed the bankruptcy declaration. The Commission des normes du travail responded to a request for information with this: "Nous avons actuellement deux dossiers actifs contre le restaurant Jargo. Les dossiers concernent des sommes (salaire, vacances,) qui n’auraient pas été versées aux salariés."

The government agency also confirmed today that it has an active dossier on La Queue de Cheval.