Jardine’s Drama: The staff says owner Beena was meana
There isn’t much that Fat City can add to all the media drama stirred up after Beena Rajah, the owner of Jardine’s restaurant and jazz club, impulsively fired every member of her venue’s staff last week. All kinds of accusations are flying about Ms. Raja’s management style every witch, I mean which, way. And the comments about the vivacious Ms. R on many of the local blogs are scathing.
I would hate to see Jardine’s close — this city has far too few jazz and blues clubs as it is. And the food and service were good. But was it really such a terrible place to work?
By some accounts, yes. One former server, Stevie Collins, took his story to KSHB Channel 41. And local waiter and restaurant blogger David Hayden interviewed several former Jardine’s employees for a troubling post about the club for his tipsfortips blog.
According to former Jardine’s chef-manager Jim Dennis (who had been advised by his attorney not to say too much about his own experiences at the venue), Hayden’s blog was pretty accurate.
“I was impressed by how he really captured the things that were going on there,” says Dennis, who had given his notice to Jardine’s the week before the mass firing.
