North Carolina Capitol Source: John Coletti / Getty
Like marching ants, they keep coming, those Karens. This time, it’s Kitchen Karen AKA Lisa Callaghan leading the menacing army of insects. Callaghan is the former owner of Durham, North Carolina’s posh restaurant, Plum Southern Kitchen and Bar, (now called Plum). It was shuttered, almost pandemic-like in early July. Now we know why.
Paula Deen, the original Kitchen Karen Source: Dave Kotinsky / Getty
According to a story published late last week by Indyweek.com, Plum’s sudden closing was not the result of a “standard summer break,” as the restaurant’s IG page reported. It was actually the result of Kitchen Karen experiencing the mass exodus of her staff. But in these days of rising prices, why would anyone want to leave a steady job?
From Indyweek:
According to eight former Plum employees… Plum owner Lisa Callaghan, who is white, used the N-word multiple times in May. The former employees say the restaurant was closed [as in it had not opened for business yet that day] at the time and that they were playing the song “Euphoria” by Kendrick Lamar while preparing for dinner service; Callaghan then appeared upset and expressed discomfort with the song’s use of the n-word, and in the course of doing so used the word herself.
Wait. Make it make sense. She’s offended by the word but insists upon using it–something she admits to? Who uses words that “offend them,” and does so repeatedly? Sounds more like Kitchen Karen found her comfort zone. I guess she never saw this brilliant–and widely circulated–Delroy Lindo scene.
And this is where history loops—again. Eight members of the staff who spoke on condition of anonymity all relayed the same story. They left because beginning in May, Kitchen Karen could not stop saying the word n—-r. Like could not. And then she started firing people.
First on the chopping block? A Black woman, her bartender, who told her it was insulting for her to use the word. Callaghan’s response was that “you people do it.”
And while Kitchen Karen made a sorry-not-sorry apology to staff at some point, she’s made no comment about the firings, likely because #lawsuit and lawsuit because Title VII protections against racial and other forms of discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere have been on the books for literally 60 years! It was part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And it didn’t say you can’t discriminate against Black people unless you’re a white woman. Somehow that seems to get lost in the real-world.
But getting rid of the sister wasn’t enough. Kitchen Karen also fired her executive chef, Trent Shank, whose expertise is not only what made Plum a destination restaurant in the area, but who, according to staff also created the collegial, non-toxic atmosphere in which people worked (restaurants, by the way, are known for having toxic energy toward employees).
In keeping with the good and honest character former employees ascribe to Shank, he refused to back up Kitchen Karen in the fight over who gets to say the N-word and who does not. In her sorry-not-sorry email that followed the firings, Kitchen Karen, without notice, also advised the staff that they would be dropping the Southern Kitchen part of their name (but somehow remain true to Southern cuisine).
And then she dropped this bombshell: she was closing the restaurant temporarily (the website, which is no longer accessible, said they’d be closed for eight days, from July 2-10. As of today, it remains closed).
At that point, the mass exodus came. No one was waiting for Kitchen Karen to somehow suddenly start behaving rationally or humanely.
In signing off the email, Kitchen Karen said she hoped the staff would enjoy the unpaid time off. (Kitchen Karen also apparently gave the fired bartender $700 as severance and said she hoped that it would be seen as a “good faith” offering and no bad words would be spoken against Plum. Wow. Talk about it’s my world and you’re just a guest in it.)
But it seems that harassment runs in the family so maybe KK thought her behavior was within the realm of generally accepted workplace behavior. Just two years ago, her brother who is also in the restaurant business and runs a popular upscale place, also in North Carolina, called Carrboro’s Acme Food & Beverage Co.. The young staff there–employees all under 25—went on strike for several months in response to persistent sexual harassment, Indyweek reported in 2022.
In the end, KK’s arrogance and racism made everyone a loser. Her business is shuttered and a staff that loved working with and for Trent Shank, like Shank himself, are heartbroken.
The height of irony, of course, is that Kendrick Lamar’s brilliant “Euphoria” is about not saying the N-word. But here we are.
SEE MORE:
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Elon Musk Has Absolutely No Idea What A ‘Karen’ Is
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