La Señorita leaves workers unemployed after closing unexpectedly
La Señorita's, a restaurant that stood in Mount Pleasant for 33 years, unexpectedly closed its doors leaving around 40 workers without a job.
The Mexican restaurant announced that it would be closing its Mount Pleasant location permanently on Dec. 26 There are three remaining locations open in Michigan, according to their website. The announcement was made through a paper posted on the door of the restaurant.
“Thank you, Mt. Pleasant,” the paper on the door read. “It has been our pleasure to serve you! This location has closed.”
The note came as a shock to many employees who showed up to work that morning, since this was their first-time hearing about the closure. They noticed cars in the parking lot from the restaurant’s corporate office were in the parking lot. The employees were turned away and told that the restaurant was no longer in business.
Robert Wilkinson, a former shift supervisor at the restaurant, said he worked there since May of 2018 and there were few signs that the restaurant would have closed. He said this announcement came as a big surprise since they had a staff meeting scheduled in January and recently ordered new, expensive kitchen equipment.
“In my experience, restaurants that are about to close their doors don’t order new equipment,” Wilkinson said.
The decision to close was a sudden one made by the corporate office, Wilkinson said. La Señorita Mexican Restaurants President Jeff Leslie said the restaurant did not own the building where it operated so they were leasing the building. But the lease was ending, and they could not negotiate a desired price.
On top of this, the general manager recently quit, which Leslie said, “shortened the timeline.” These factors lead to the restaurant to close permanently.
"Our hand was forced," Leslie said. "We did not have confidence that we would be able to operate this restaurant after (Dec. 25)."
Former employees of La Señorita were not informed of the lease negotiations and the sudden closing, leaving some who worked there feeling betrayed. Wilkinson said employees should have been warned about the closure or at least should have been able to finish out their shifts. After what he gave to the company, he said the way the closing was handled made him feel discarded.
“I have literally broken bones for this company,” Wilkinson said.
He said some of these former employees include college students and single parents. Wilkinson himself has three children and relied on his position.
“I still have bills I have to pay," Wilkinson said. "I still have appointments I have to make and I don’t have the money to do these things."
CMU freshman and Mount Pleasant native Kayla McKern said management told her that the lease wasn't up soon and nothing was going to happen until April.
McKern was "shocked and annoyed" after she showed up for her 11 a.m. shift as a cook in the kitchen. She later found out that most managers knew of the closing at 9:30 a.m. that morning, but they continued to let employees show up to find out about the closing. She has worked at the restaurant since late August.
In an email from Shelly Daly, senior manager of human resources at the corporate office, McKern and other employees were told "closing was a difficult decision."
"Over the years La Senorita has faced ever-growing competition, a high maintenance old building, and lately a labor crisis," the email read. "We have had a great 33-year run. We built many lasting friendships, provided many memories and fiesta experiences for our guests, and have provided many opportunities to many amigos. Our amigos have been the heart of what we’ve achieved."
The email thanked the employees and offered information about insurance, pay, 401k and unemployment opportunities.
Community Editor Dylan Goetz contributed to this article.
