Allegations of “corruption, racial discrimination and labor abuses” were leveled against Atlanta restaurateur Ford Fry and his Rocket Farm Restaurants group in an online “manifesto” written and posted earlier this week by Rocket Farm employees.
Titled “Manifeste du Restaurant Marcel,” the site alleges the management at Rocket Farm restaurant Marcel “participates and perpetuates a covert and gross exploitation of staff, a routine manipulation and discrimination of Black employees to keep them out of leadership positions and ultimately upholds a long history of overt inhumane abuses within the restaurant industry.”
Tiandra Peele is among multiple current and former Marcel staff members involved in writing the manifesto. Peele was hired as a cook in 2021 and later promoted to lead cook. In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she said she aspired to become a sous chef, which would have given her management duties, so she sought guidance from the steakhouse’s upper management.
“I always asked about moving up and they guaranteed me I would, and gave me a timeline of when I would. And every time I met the qualifications for it, there was something else being dangled in front of me,” Peele said.
Peele believes her identity as a Black queer woman kept her from advancement with the company. “Because I’m Black, a woman and a lesbian, I was being targeted, because my management were white people who don’t really understand me,” she said.
Peele said a dispute over recording her hours led to what she said was her wrongful termination in January.
She also said her unsuccessful attempts to advance in the company, along with watching others go through similar experiences, motivated her to contribute to the manifesto.
A representative for Rocket Farm Restaurants responded to the manifesto allegations in a statement shared with the AJC.
“We are saddened by these allegations. Our people are the backbone of our company and we’ve always been steadfast in our commitment to fostering a safe and fair work environment for all. We are following up on every accusation to confirm we understand each concern to protect our team,” the statement read. “From what we know so far, we can confidently say that many of these points are inaccurate and any concerns we were alerted to were previously addressed. Our team is our family, and we take these matters incredibly seriously. As we actively discuss with our people, we will do everything possible to ensure every voice is heard.”
Rocket Farm Restaurant opened its first eatery, the now-shuttered JCT Kitchen, in west Midtown in 2007. In addition to Marcel and the Optimist, the group owns and operates No. 246 in Decatur, St. Cecilia in Buckhead, Beetlecat in Inman Park, Little Rey in Piedmont Heights, Little Sparrow and Bar Blanc in west Midtown and several locations of Superica.
Rocket Farm also operates restaurants in Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The manifesto’s primary author, a person currently employed as a server at Marcel, said she was motivated to create the document after Peele’s firing. The server requested that the AJC withhold her name due to fear of retaliation.
“It was really that look on her face when I saw things transpire … that’s what killed me. And I thought, something needs to be said. It doesn’t need to be like this,” the server added.
Several former Rocket Farm employees shared their experiences working for the restaurant group with the AJC.
Cleophus Hethington, who is Black, worked as lead line cook at the Optimist in west Midtown from 2013 to 2014. He said he holds his time there in high regard, and credits chef Adam Evans and others for the growth of his career, but also says the lack of minority representation in leadership and executive roles has long been a common narrative at Rocket Farm restaurants.
“You see a lot of Blacks or Latinos in the back or front of the house,” Hethington said. “It’s fine to be an hourly, low-level employee, but that’s about as far or high as you’re gonna get.”
Admitting he wanted to rise in rank at the Optimist, Hethington, a 2022 James Beard Foundation Award finalist who is looking to move back to Atlanta from Miami, said he would decline an opportunity to work for Rocket Farm now.
Christopher Ford was a bartender at Rocket Farm’s Buckhead restaurant St. Cecilia. Ford, who is Black, said the work was challenging, but also looks back fondly at his time working there and said the manifesto’s narrative is contrary to his own experience.
“A lot of people who worked for Rocket Farm are like family for me,” he said. “I don’t work for them any longer, but I’m proud to say that I did.”
The primary author of the manifesto, an Atlanta native, said her experience growing up here also made her want to speak out. “I really think it’s time that Atlanta has this conversation,” she said. “Not just about abuses in the restaurant industry, but blatant, covert racism.”
“If they really allowed the opportunity for Black excellence to shine, they could be even better. And that’s what’s so frustrating about it. ... I just think they’re missing out. There’s so much potential for greatness.
Peele agreed.
“I don’t want them to fail, but I feel like they need some failure,” she said. “They need to be broken down so they can know what people are saying.”
