Four Barrel Coffee Founder Accused of Sexual Assault, Harassment
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Former employees of Four Barrel Coffee, a popular San Francisco coffee roaster, filed a lawsuit on Friday in San Francisco Superior Court against the company and its founder Jeremy Tooker, alleging he sexually assaulted multiple women, harassed others and created a toxic workplace for female staff members.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the eight women named in the lawsuit allege incidents where Tooker assaulted a female employee in a hotel room, only stopping when other employees intervened, forcibly grabbed another employee's neck, simulated sex acts with employees at a company party, made lewd speeches, kissed employees against their will and threatened to fire a staff member for speaking to another former employee.
The suit depicts a company with rampant sexual misconduct, and an ownership group -- led by Tooker, along with partners Jodi Geren and Tal Mor -- that chose to address neither the misconduct nor employees' complaints about it. One employee was let go soon after reporting an incident to management and was told she was "not a good fit" for the company.
According to the suit, partners Jodi Geren and Tal Mor responded to complaints about Tooker sexually assaulting multiple women at a company party by telling the employees not to "create drama."
Neither Tooker nor Geren responded to multiple Chronicle inquiries regarding the allegations.
Local chefs Charlie Hallowell of Pizzaiolo, Boot & Shoe Service, and Penrose, Ken Friedman, co-owner of Tosca Cafe, and Michael Chirarello of Coqueta and Bottega have all faced allegations from several employees each of harassment.
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