Maybe it's just me, but I thought ego and vision are what founders get to have?

Tatte Bakery is a nice little local chain. There's one just around the corner, and I'm probably in there every month or two for something.

It's a very pleasant spot, albeit high on the preciousness scale:

...with an aesthetic that makes Instagrammers swoon: black-and-white floor tiles with cheeky inspirational quotes, woven Parisian bistro chairs, piles of flaky pastries, and shakshuka skillets studded with silky poached eggs. (Source: Boston Globe)

I don't know about those silky poached eggs (nor do I know what a shakshuka skillet is), but I can vouch for their wonderful pastries. One of my favorite tatte-y things is the nice little bags of nice little cookies that make an excellent host(ess) gifteen if one is invited to lunch, as one was on occasion in the before time. And while it's often crowded with tourists - or was before the Covid Era when there was such a thing - and stroller moms, "my" local Tatte's is a pleasant enough place to stop for a cup or tea with a friend.

They also have good sandwiches. The one with roasted cauliflower is to die for.

It's also a sandwich that is to wait for.

And that's my gripe with Tatte. They seem incapable of parallel processing. Or at least stare down their noses at the thought of "fast food". If you order something, be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. All part of the Tatte zeitgeist, I guess.

Unfortunately, something's been brewing at Tatte other than tea, and founder Tzurit Or has been forced out.

Over the past several weeks, current, former, and furloughed Tatte staff have begun speaking out against Or’s leadership, saying she created a culture at the cafes that has enabled “discriminatory hiring practices and maltreatment of Black and Brown employees in entry-level positions,” according to an open letter published by the group last week...

The news comes as complaints have emerged about the management of the cafes, including allegations that Or or her managers have made discriminatory comments about the race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical attributes of staffers, and that Or made hiring and promotion decisions based in part on how well workers fit in with the “Tatte aesthetic.” 

I don't know anything about what it's like to work there, and the culture may well be vile for some, especially for minorities. Much as I like their aesthetic, I must admit that the Tatte aesthetic represents something of peak well-to-do whiteness. But some of the complaints mentioned in the article seemed, well, unreasonable.

Some employees took offense that "Or decided to board up her storefronts as protests around the George Floyd killing surged throughout the city."

The looting and property destruction ended up taking place just one night, but on that night, the destruction was pretty extensive in parts of the city. My immediate neighborhood was only lightly impacted - tagging, smashed windows - but damage elsewhere was pretty awful. After that first night, however, a lot of the businesses on Charles Street (my immediate 'hood) boarded up. Because that's what you do if you want to protect your business from damage.

Then there was the (white) fellow who was gifted with six months worth of diapers for his newborn baby "but felt those acts of kindness were held out in exchange for expectations of loyalty or long hours." Maybe, maybe not. But, umm, isn't this how working works? When the boss does something nice for you, don't you usually feel a bit more inclined to go the extra mile for them?

But to me the oddest grip was this:

Employees described a workplace that was driven largely by Or’s vision — and her ego. 

It sounds as if Or and Tatte are trying to do the right thing in terms of listening to what their employees are experiencing, but, jeez louise. I don't know a ton about being an entrepreneur, and maybe it's just me, but isn't one of the bennies of being a founder that you get to shape the company you've founded to make it in line with your vision, and as an expression of your ego?