Arizona restaurant forced to close after almost all of its staff members were poached by another restaurant

Phoenix restaurant forced to close after almost all its staff members were poached away

A Phoenix restaurant owner is criticizing what he calls a 'dirty move,' after another restaurant managed to poach almost all staff members, prompting the restaurant to close its doors since Thanksgiving. FOX 10's Linda Williams reports.

PHOENIX - A restaurant owner in the Phoenix area said he was shocked when nearly his entire staff was poached by another restaurant.

Incidents like the one that happened to Matt Gorman paint a picture of the aggressive competition for workers in these times.

Owner recounts what happened

Gorman, who owns Matty G's in Tempe, had to close the restaurant shortly after Thanksgiving, after he says another restaurant poached nearly his entire staff.

"They didn't even give us two weeks notice. Nothing," Gorman recounted. "We're open one day, and the next day, you don't have a staff, so it's brutal."

Gorman said his general manager was hired by the other restaurant, and she was offered a deal.

Owner lambasts ‘dirty move’

"Basically come over, bring staff with you, and we'll give you a couple hundred per staff," said Gorman. "You really shouldn't do that."

Gorman says he pays $16 to $20 per hour for kitchen staff and knows things are competitive. He thought this move was dirty.

"We wouldn't say ‘bring your whole staff,’" Gorman said. "That puts somebody else in a bad spot, and once you've been hit yourself or hurt yourself, you just don't do that to people. It's just not how you live."

Gorman says he wants the dining public to know that these are unprecedented times for every business and asks for patience as new employees are trained.

Also, it probably goes without saying, but Matty G's is hiring at all six of its locations in the Phoenix area.