Staff at Boujee's Liverpool restaurant claim they have not been paid full wages in recent weeks as the business struggles with 'cashflow' issues. The pink-themed restaurant is part of the Boujee brand, which also has sites in Manchester and Chester.
The Liverpool branch opened on Kenyon Steps in Liverpool One in December 2020. Set across two floors and covering around 9,600 sq ft, the restaurant features a giant candy area, themed ‘pool party’ and ‘Alice in Boujeeland’ areas.
One of the company's directors is Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lystra Adams. The Liverpool Echo understands that she is not involved with the day to day running of the Liverpool restaurant.
On its menu, Champagne starts at £90 for a Laurent Brut up to £750 for Laurent Perrier Rose Jeroboam. Cocktails start at £9 for a Strawberry Daquiri to £150 for a Wisteria Lane sharer. House prosecco bottles start at £32, it's £24 for a bottle of Morador Blanco Navarra white wine. Boujee Bagel Burgers cost £16, £13.50 for Truffled Mac and Cheese and £24.50 for a sirloin steak.
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The business has been experiencing what it says are 'cash flow' issues recently and staff have reported being paid just 40% of their wages on a recent pay date, but the company now says 70 per cent of wages have been paid. Workers said they have also regularly not been paid the full service charge provided by customers.
A message sent to staff - and seen by the ECHO - attempted to explain the situation and the decision taken at the end of June. It said: "It is with huge regret and disappointment that we are not able to pay the wages in their entirety today. We have exhausted every avenue and it is at the point where we require the revenue from this weekend and next in order to catch up and make the payments in full.
"Today we will be making a payment to all employees of 40 per cent of their total wage. On Monday we will make a second payment and this will be 30 per cent of their total wage plus 50 per cent of the service charge for the month. The following Monday we will pay the remaining 30 per cent and the remaining 50 per cent of the service charge.
"We are extremely sorry that it has come to this and I assure you we are doing all we can to get back on track and our team are vital in this path to recovery. We fully appreciate this is not acceptable and we thank you for your hard work, support and loyalty through what has been a very challenging time."
A group of staff members spoke to the ECHO about the pay situation, stating that pay issues go back as far as December and have included workers not being paid their full service charge. The company did not respond to this specific point when asked about it.
They said some staff had walked out of shifts because of the ongoing situation, with some claiming to have been unable to make rent and mortgage payments because of the pay issues. Responding to the complaints, Boujee accepted that having to hold back on wages was an 'unfortunate position', and said the business had now managed to pay 70 per cent of the wages of its Liverpool staff.
A spokesperson said: "The hospitality industry is continuing to face very challenging times with increases in costs such as utilities and food supplies. We have done what we can do as a business to absorb these costs without passing directly onto our customers.
"We experienced unexpected costs last month which created temporary cash flow constraints for the business. Whilst 70 per cent of the staff wages has been paid, the remaining 30 per cent has been deferred by five working days.
"It is an unfortunate position and we do sympathise with our team and appreciate their efforts. As many in the hospitality sector have suffered during the pandemic we have continued to push forward, which has had a detrimental impact on cash reserves.
"We are continuing to liaise with our valued staff members and will do what we can to absorb the increased operational costs moving forward. We are confident that the business will resume as usual and we remain open for business."
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