A cafe that called itself the oldest coffee shop in Long Beach’s East Village closed abruptly last month after a judge ruled it owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages to former employees.
Previously called the Village Grind before relaunching as the East Village Café around 2020, the State Labor Commissioner’s Office says the business cheated employees out of $65,000, mostly by not paying them minimum wages and overtime.
With additional penalties tacked on, owner Richard Saldana was ordered in 2019 to pay $69,646. Instead, authorities allege, he tried to dodge the debt by transferring the business to his fiancée and mother, who began running it under the new name, “at least on paper.”
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After years of trying unsuccessfully to collect from Saldana, the Labor Commissioner’s office asked a judge to hold the East Village Café and its new owners liable as well. They argued it was a direct successor to Village Grind, meaning it should be responsible for paying the outstanding debts…