Imagine arriving at work and having the doors padlocked shut. There was no phone call saying to stay at home. Even worse, no explanation whatsoever was given. As ridiculous as this may sound, it happened at the campus-area Cooker restaurant.
As a part of the national chain’s mass closing, the Cooker restaurant on Lane Avenue left many Ohio State students unemployed on April 18. Employees said they were not given any warning and had not received their last paychecks. For some, the money was not as big of an issue because they were on serving rates – amounting to $2.13 an hour, most of which is taken for taxes. For others, such as cooks and hostesses, the final paycheck was a substantial amount and the only income they had coming in. Either way, it did not matter either way, because no checks were cut.
The Cooker chain should be able to stave off paying the employees, for a while anyway. It filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and never recovered from its loss. Until it is found the restaurant has the funds to write the paychecks, courts cannot force them to. Basically, unless the company scrapes its way out of debt, the students left unemployed should not expect a dime from Cooker.
Again, there was no warning of this. Employees were not given the chance to look for another job before being kicked to the curb. With the Ohio economy is as bad as shape it is right now, it could take some time for former Cooker employees to dive back into the working world. This is a tough scenario for anyone, from the person who is trying to raise a family to the college student who is looking for extra spending cash on top of rent and bills.
On top of all this, the sign outside of Cooker is still illuminated. Someone is paying the electricity bill for the property. The money could be coming form one of two places. Either the electric company is eating the cost or the building owner is. Ironically, Ohio State owns the property. And given how responsible Cooker has been in all of this, the university had no prior knowledge of the closing.
It would be in OSU’s best interest to ban the Cooker chain forever. According to reports, the university is waiting for an explanation of the closing. Instead of waiting for an explanation, though, OSU should actively seek out a new prospective candidate for the location. Another sit-down style restaurant would be good. This time instead of a home-cooking establishment, the campus could benefit from an Italian eatery. And it only makes sense to replace a chain with a chain – Olive Garden anyone.
