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New Scandal Emerges; Do You Still Eat Upper Crust Pizza? [POLL]

In 2010, Upper Crust Pizzeria faced accusations of significant labor violations. Now the chain's founder has been placed on leave after allegations he stole company funds.

 

One of Upper Crust Pizzeria's founders, Jordan Tobins, has been placed on leave after the other two founders, Josh Huggard and Brendan Higgins, allege he stole money from the company for personal use, according to an article in the Boston Globe.  

One thing he might have spent the money on? His $700,000 yacht, which after an attempt to list it on eBay, he is currently barred from selling due to a restraining order that requires him to obtain court approval before transferring any of his personal assets.  

The restraining order stems from a lawsuit wherein 5 former employees are suing Upper Crust for labor violations; per the Globe "Upper Crust allegedly relied on low-paid illegal laborers from a small village in Brazil to expand the chain to 18 restaurants over the past decade, according to a Globe investigation published in 2010. Former employees have accused the company of routinely taking advantage of Brazilian workers by underpaying them for long workweeks and later rescinding overtime compensation ordered by the US Department of Labor."

Upper Crust's lawyer, Franklin Levy, told the Globe the company is headed in the right direction, however.  "They brought in a new financial team and the prior [chief financial officer], frankly, lacked the competence to deal with this kind of business. The new financial team is paying attention to the business. No one is taking vacations, no one is on their yacht, no one is playing golf. They are working 12 to 20 hours a day to get the business to do well and to continue to grow.’’

Are you hungry for Upper Crust no matter what, or has all this drama  made you lose your appetite?  Vote in our poll and leave a comment with your opinion on the issues at stake. 

  • Do questionable business practices keep you from visiting Upper Crust Pizzeria?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • Yes, once I heard they weren't treating employees well I stopped eating their pies.
        44 (55%)
    • Yes, I didn't know there were any problems until now, but now that I'm aware I won't go there.
        12 (15%)
    • No, I like their pizza, and I don't think these issues warrant any kind of boycott.
        11 (13%)
    • Other: see my answer in the comments.
        12 (15%)
    Total votes: 79
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Brookline Business, Jordan Tobins, and Upper Crust Pizzeria

Bill Davidson

9:52 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012

While I don't support Upper Crust's treatment of its workers, I do support their hard-working staff. I only eat at Upper Crust a couple times a year. My wife and I like to order pizza delivery from Mangia in Brookline Village. (I highly recommend Mangia's "Margarita" pizza!)

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Lyndsay Thompson

11:40 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012

I stopped eating Upper Crust not because of their business practices but because their pizzas are overrated and overpriced, and the delivery service has been terrible - my pizza has twice arrived burned, cold, and an hour and a half late. I'll never eat there again.

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