Tavolino struggled to recover after fire; abrupt closure leaves employees without pay

The abrupt closure of east-side Italian restaurant Tavolino, 2315 N. Murray Ave., left employees without their last paychecks.

According to owner Peter Dietrich, the restaurant wasn't able to recover financially after reopening following a 12-week closure due to a fire.

“Tavolino closed because it was undercapitalized coming out of the fire,” Dietrich told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday.

The restaurant had closed in June and reopened Aug. 28.

More: Tavolino restaurant ready to reopen after 12-week closure following June fire

“When we reopened, we really didn't have the funds in the bank that were needed in order to sustain operation,” he said. “At the time, I didn't see that.”

About 25 employees didn't receive their last paycheck, Dietrich confirmed.

Kayla Rodriguez, a former employee, said she worked about 100 hours in the last pay period and hasn't received her hourly pay or any of the tips she earned.

She wasn't able to make her last rent payment and received a five-day notice to move out of her rented house, she told the Journal Sentinel.

“I’ve been in the industry in multiple places between Chicago, Milwaukee and suburbs … for the last eight years and I've never seen this before,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, who has worked as an expo/garde manager for two years at Tavolino, said the restaurant was as busy — if not busier — than usual in the weeks after the reopening.

Of the 25 employees Rodriguez worked with, she said a handful are in dire situations and scrambling to find ways to pay bills.

Andrea Lavigne, another former Tavolino employee, created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the former employees.

Rodriguez said she hasn't heard much communication from Dietrich beyond a long text message he sent to two employee group chats.

Part of that message read: “As for paychecks, I know you’re all waiting for them and I know you need them to live. I’ll be transparent and tell you I don’t have an answer at this point.”

"We were a team," Rodriguez said. "We were always a tightknit crew. ... The camaraderie in that kitchen was something that everyone strives for, so that adds another layer of sadness.

"We're all worried about our 'home' homes, but we also know we lost our work homes as well as our family."

More: At Milwaukee's Tavolino, a successful Italian restaurant rises from the pandemic

Tavolino opened in March 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant opened slowly, through pop-ups and carryout orders. In-person dining opened in June 2020. Previously, Dietrich was the manager at Rare steakhouse.

The state's online court record system shows five delinquent tax warrants issued by the state Department of Revenue to Dietrich's company, DP Hospitality Group LLC, totaling about $30,000 dating to June 2023, and another delinquent tax warrant from the state Department of Workforce Development for unemployment compensation of $15,000.

"Tavolino wasn't just a restaurant to me," Dietrich said. "Tavolino was something that I had dreamed of my entire adult life. I wanted to show people that there was more to Italian cuisine than what most people think there is.

"I had a group of employees that I considered my ambassadors that believed that just as I did, and I failed them. I know that I failed. And I don't make any excuses for what's happened."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee restaurant Tavolino's closure leaves employees without pay