Theatre Cafe Diner workers pen open letter over unpaid sums

Former staff at the Theatre Cafe Diner have issued an open letter over unpaid wages.

The venue, which was well-loved amongst the West End theatre community, saw patrons serenaded by staff, performing musical staples and famous tunes.

It stopped welcoming diners on 1 September 2024, citing “necessary building works that would have taken months to complete” as a reason for the closure.

Performing staff were paid a mixture of an hourly wage and TRONC, a scheme designed to evenly distribute pooled tips and service charges. In addition, staff were also paid personal card tips directly from customers. None of this tip money has been paid to the signatories of the open letter.

The new open letter, which has over 30 staff members attached to it, was issued in the last fortnight. It has highlighted that since closure, many of the staff have been left out of pocket: “As of the diner’s final day of business at the Shaftesbury Avenue location, all relevant performing and kitchen staff have not been paid up to two months’ worth of pay, which for many of us equates to a very significant amount of money as we were working full time, some of us in excess of 200 plus hours a month.”

According to messages seen by WhatsOnStage in late October, there was continued turmoil after the closure of the Café Diner with the departure of key personnel from the organisation, while WhatsApp messages to senior leadership figures at the Theatre Café Diner have been left unread.

The Theatre Café has not responded at this time.

You can see the letter in full below:

“We, the performing team at Theatre Cafe Diner, would firstly like to thank every single patron  who listened, sang along and enjoyed our performances at 154 Shaftesbury Avenue. To all the patrons we had the pleasure of performing to, wherever you travelled from, thank you.

“As performing staff working at The Theatre Cafe Diner, we were employed through non-performing contracts which consisted of a monthly salary and TRONC, made up of a discretionary service charge at the bottom of each bill. This TRONC payment varied in sum based on the monthly turnover of the restaurant. Contractually, this is paid to us each month.

“As of the Diner’s final day of business at the Shaftesbury Avenue location, all relevant performing and kitchen staff have not been paid up to 2 months’ worth of pay, which for many of us equates to a very significant amount of money as we were working full time, some of us in excess of 200 plus hours a month.

“In addition to our unpaid TRONC, as waiters and waitresses, we earned our own personal card tips directly from customers as part of our service – in particular the performing element of the job- which we have unfortunately also not been paid.

“Some of us have been performing at the Diner since it first opened its doors almost 2 years ago. It was a shock to all of us when we found out- at the same time as the general public, (via social media)- that the venue would be closing its doors as of the 1st September 2024. It was made known to us that there was ‘a new venue confirmed’ and our jobs would still be secure at the new venue.

“Despite our efforts to contact CEO Joe Davey, he has ignored correspondence emails, text messages and other forms of communication regarding this matter.

“Why are we as staff talking about this and why do we want people to know?

“As self-employed performers, our industry is already extremely challenging and cut-throat, opportunities to perform are few and far between, and the inflated cost of living in London is sadly the price many of us have to pay in order to be in with a fighting chance of making it in the industry we have dedicated our lives to. Therefore missing an entire summer’s worth of pay has had catastrophic knock-on effects for many of us. It has left us anxious, upset and at a huge financial loss, as our income is vital in upholding rent and living costs.

“We also want to use this opportunity to raise awareness and protect future performers from ending up in this position.

“If the business reopens, it will look to hire more performers to work. As employees, including our amazing kitchen team, want other performers to be aware of the owner’s priorities, that of which does not include ensuring proper payment of its staff… all the while masquerading as a ‘family business’.

“The overwhelming majority of our management, marketing and accountancy team have left the Theatre Cafe Ltd business due to several issues, not solely including this one, and supported us in any way that they could as we were ALL working with difficult circumstances whilst employed by Joe Davey.

“Many of us are seeking legal advice and action against Joe Davey, as there seems to be nothing in place for reimbursement.

“We loved working with the amazing team, and spreading joy to our patrons. Performing every day for you was a blessing.

“Thank you to everyone,

“The Performing Team at The Theatre Cafe Diner.”