A catering company that provides services to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a range of other “social, philanthropic and corporate clients” has sued one of its bartenders, claiming he has endangered their contract with the CSO by divulging confidential company information and posted allegedly false statements online when the company shut down operations in March amid the onset of COVID-19.
On May 4, Wood Enterprises Inc., which does business as Chicago-based Jewell Events Catering, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Bryan Wendorf.
According to the complaint, Wendorf, of Chicago, had worked for them as a bartender at the CSO Symphony Center. While he is only identified in the complaint as "a bartender at the CSO," Wendorf has a profile on LinkedIn, in which he is identified as the concessions supervisor and lead bartender at the CSO for Jewell.
Wendorf told the Cook County Record on May 11 he had not yet seen the lawsuit, and declined comment.
The complaint says Jewell had obtained a contract in September 2019 to operate the food and drink services for the CSO, for the orchestras “members, artists, employees, volunteers, officers, trustees, visitors and guests.”
According to the complaint, the CSO and Jewell “ceased operations in response to the COVID-19 virus crisis” at the end of March.
Jewell said it sent an email to its workers on March 26 “advising them that the Company would be unable to continue normal operations which would have an impact upon payroll.”
According to the complaint, Wendorf then posted that email on a GoFundMe page he created.
Jewell said that violated the company’s “Confidentiality Agreement and the Jewell Employee Manual,” by disclosing “that Jewell was the food service provider for the CSO and thus was a client of Jewell.”
The complaint said Wendorf also allegedly “made false statements that the actions Jewell may have to take as a result of the COVID-19 crisis violated Illinois law.”
Jewell asserted Wendorf announced on his page the company “will not be paying us wages that we are due until after COVID-19 situation ends. This is after months of bouncing paychecks on their employees,” among other allegations.
Jewell’s complaint said Wendorf announced he and others were filing complaints against Jewell with the Illinois Department of Labor.
Jewell said it also believes Wendorf may have led the CSO to inquire with Jewell “regarding (Jewell’s) payroll” in the months prior.
Wendorf declared on his GoFundMe that he was in communication with the CSO president, according to the complaint.
The complaint asks for a court order directing the Wendorf to take down the information, post a statement “acknowledging he posted false information about Jewell” and apologize. It also requests unspecified actual and punitive damages be order against the defendant.
Jewell is represented in the action by attorneys Jerome F. Crotty, Kevin P. Brown and Bernard A. Henry, of the firm of Rieck & Crotty P.C., of Chicago.