An Ellicott City woman has filed a criminal charge against the owner of Jordan’s Steakhouse, accusing him of failing to pay her about $2,000 in wages.
 
Kyungin Kang alleges Jordan Naftal, the owner of Jordan’s Steakhouse, never paid her for kitchen work she did at $9 a hour over a seven-week period. Naftal is charged with six counts relating to unpaid wages.
 
“Since I started to work at this place, I have never received my paychecks on time and there was not even a regular payday,” Kang wrote in charging documents filed last week. “Mr. Naftal gave me a letter specifying that I should cash my paycheck only at a specific bank that he had an account in to avoid overdraft fees after my second paycheck was bounced. Mr. Naftal had kept delaying giving paychecks and never provided an answer as to when he would give all the paychecks that he owed.”
 
Reached by telephone, Kang said she did not wish to comment on the charges she filed against Naftal.
 
In the documents, Kang wrote she worked at the steakhouse from March 2 until Aug. 17, when Naftal was locked out of his restaurant because of a dispute with the landlord, Blues Building, Inc.
 
She said she has not been paid her wages for work she did between June 22 and July 4 and between July 13 and Aug. 15.
 
On Aug. 19, Kang said she tried to contact Naftal through an attorney, but “Mr. Naftal refused to pay because he stated he did not have money. However, I doubt this answer because he recently opened a new restaurant, Carlos and Jordan’s Steakhouse, by getting a loan from the bank,” according to the charging documents.
 
In total, Kang wrote that Naftal owes her $2,592, which after taxes would be take-home pay of $1,786.
 
In Maryland, anyone can file misdemeanor criminal charges with a local court commissioner. The charges must then be reviewed by the state’s attorney’s office before proceeding to trial. Naftal has been summoned to appear in court to face the charges on Oct. 20.
 
Naftal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, in an earlier interview with the Howard County Times, Naftal said a dispute over rent payments caused the landlord to lock him out.
 
Naftal said he still plans to open a restaurant in November in the Maple Lawn development in Fulton, with partner Carlos Venegas, owner of Ranazul, an upscale wine and tapas bar in Maple Lawn. That restaurant will be opening up as Carlos and Jordan’s Steakhouse, Naftal said.

“On the happy side we’re opening in Maple Lawn,” Naftal said.

Naftal has other financial worries as well.

On Monday, the state of Maryland filed its third civil suit against Jordan's Steakhouse's parent company, Historic Hospitality, in the past year over $21,000 in unpaid taxes.

In March 2009, the steakhouse was ordered to pay $41,000 in unpaid taxes to the state and in September 2008, the business was ordered to pay about $17,000 in unpaid taxes.

Naftal said he has worked out a payment plan with the state on the unpaid taxes.

Also, on Monday, the Howard County government was awarded $820 in a civil matter against the steakhouse.

Reporter Mike Santa Rita contributed to this story.

This story has been updated.

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user comments (6)

user workin4freenot says...

why would you even include her home address? Talking about PRIVACY here.

Posted 2:43 PM, 08.25.09 | Permalink

user observer says...

There's a lot at steak here. Sorry

Posted 10:46 PM, 08.25.09 | Permalink

user mdl7 says...

You really start to wonder what's going on here. The prices on the menu are pretty high, and there's usually people in there eating - why doesn't Mr Naftal have the money to pay his employees.

Posted 8:40 AM, 08.26.09 | Permalink

user hocoterp01 says...

Shady. I won't be eating there EVER. If he doesn't even have the decency to pay his kitchen staff or taxes, I'm not paying him for an overpriced steak. Their food wasn't that much of a step above Outback anyhow- plus Outback pays their staff.

Posted 2:07 PM, 08.26.09 | Permalink

user zoom says...

Very sad ..

Posted 5:02 PM, 08.26.09 | Permalink

user mikewall says...

I've been to Jordan's - the food was very mediocre and probably the most overpriced I've ever experienced. Knowing that the owner is a scumbag too makes me even more determined not to go back!

Posted 1:54 PM, 08.27.09 | Permalink