First word of this came in the WSB Forums on Wednesday; Angel posted to say her brother and the rest of the West Seattle Garlic Jim’s staff had lost their jobs when the Junction pizzeria suddenly closed. Her post blamed new owners for “laying off the entire staff.” Much discussion ensued, so we sought out the new owners to find out their side of the story.
They are Jeff and Page Taylor, who since April have owned a Garlic Jim’s in Edmonds, and since Wednesday, own the one in West Seattle. We talked by phone this afternoon with Jeff Taylor, who told us they’re working at the Edmonds pizzeria tonight to give the staff a Christmas Eve break. Ahead – his explanation of what happened, and their plans for the West Seattle store, which first opened in 2007, at least a few prior owners ago:
Jeff says the owner who sold the franchise to the Taylors, Bob Houston Enterprises, had owned it just eight months. City records show the parent corporation, which is based in Snohomish County, was the owner before that; we also know it changed hands in 2008, then went up for sale again, but there’s no other information about who else owned it along the way.
Jeff says he has no direct knowledge of why Houston Enterprises decided to sell so soon, but notes that the store needed a lot of repairs and cleaning these past few days as he and Page got ready to reopen it. Their intent had always been to have a second store, he says, but not necessarily so soon – until they got word of this opportunity, and jumped on it.
Regarding the WSB Forums post blaming the “new owners” for laying off the staff, Jeff says, “It wasn’t us,” it was the previous ownership – the employees worked for Houston Enterprises, they lost their jobs when it closed abruptly, and they were notified by Houston Enterprises (who we have not been able to reach for comment). Anyone working for the Taylors, Jeff said, whether they worked for the former owner or not, would have to be approved under their insurance, among other aspects of the process. “It’s an unfortunate situation,” he acknowledges. He says they met three former employees who came in to pick up belongings while the Taylors were cleaning up the restaurant, and invited them to apply – he says two of them did. They took applications in a four-hour open-interview event yesterday (as advertised here).
He is hoping any past concerns – whether the employee situation or something else – will not be held against them as they start fresh, with what he calls an “entirely different” operation – “in a good way.” They’ll be open 11 am to midnight seven days a week, and hope to have a community open house once they’re up and running, to invite people in to get to know them. Beer and wine won’t be available until their liquor license is approved.
They plan to replicate store-specific online communication with the community, as inaugurated in Edmonds (where the store has its own website, Facebook page, and Twitter account). And for the foreseeable future, you’ll find them in the kitchen at their newly purchased restaurant; they say they don’t plan to be absentee owners – they’ll likely spend long hours there for starters, till everything’s running the way they want it to and they can pull back a bit.
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