Forget Taneda: Since late 2021, it’s been nearly impossible to reserve a spot at Splintered Wand, a wacky wizard-themed destination restaurant on Ballard Avenue. Tables were always reserved months in advance.
But despite the hype, the wand, which has always adamantly denied any affiliation with the Harry Potter franchise, closed Wednesday night abruptly, apologizing but providing no explanation. Here’s the announcement posted on the Instagram account:
“It is with great sadness that Splintered Wand will be closing so soon. All current and future reservations have been cancelled. Stay magical – we miss you.
Jeffrey Pounds and Andrea Zinsmeyer-Wiser (professional brother-in-law team of wizards aka Geoffrey Thaddeus Constantine Balch and Andrea Ravnholm) acquired the space for $2.4 million in 2018, but it’s been three years Change it to open the door of a wand that costs and is plagued by construction and COVID-related setbacks.
The owner may be tight-lipped about why it closed after only about a year, but did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Several of his Reddit users claiming to be former employees showed up to report poor management, difficulty retaining staff due to rude treatment, and loss of funds, among other possible reasons for the closure. I was.
people who do not know I spoke with several former Splintered Wand employees, and they all refer to Pounds as the restaurant’s sole owner. We have verified their identities and employment status, but have requested anonymity for fear of retaliation or harassment.
The first former employee, who said he had worked at the restaurant for over a year, confirmed “all” of the gossip in the Reddit post.
“The place has been on the verge of closing for months,” said the person people who do not know on mail. “The restaurant was never profitable, no matter how busy we were and we weren’t getting reservations. The owners have had a big downfall.” He added that he was out of business and had absolutely no connection with the restaurant at the time it closed.
A second former employee also said the employee had not received notice of the restaurant’s closure from the general manager or owner.[Friday, January 6] was our payday, but was informed by a colleague that the owner would not pay us. Apparently he has no money. ”
Another former employee said he hadn’t spoken to Pounds personally since the closure, but called some of the staff and said they could pay him after an “arbitration” with Jinsmeier Weiser. He said he was told. , scheduled for January 19. people who do not know A contact confirmed that their salaries were still outstanding and that Pounds had not personally confirmed a date when they could expect payment.
As for the reason for the closure, some former staff members have some ideas. One of his former employees called its demise “inevitable,” saying, “On December 1st the kitchen crew left without notice. The head chef left a few days before (she She gave me two weeks’ grace.”
They added: Until days before closing, they hadn’t posted any open kitchen jobs. The first priority was hiring a kitchen staff and a chef. Things went downhill rapidly from there. 5 out of 7 servers sent him notifications. They haven’t hired a kitchen crew yet. …we all had theories like [Pounds] We had no money, so we continued to operate without a kitchen staff. I didn’t know he was so bad as withholding our salary. ”
This place was hugely popular and a total Instagram darling. During the Splintered Wand’s existence, Patrons will periodically visit the Magical Her D&D Food (such as Blackened Cockatrice Legs and Deviled Her Harpy Eggs!!) to eat her and take wizard selfies. I was visiting from afar. It was the “it girl” of the kid’s birthday party venue, even for all ballad moms. Even more sorry if you are one of these ex-employees.
and RIP, a goofy theme park restaurant. It’s rough there. Your bathroom was really cool. Someday, I hope to see the skeletons of giant mythical sea creatures hanging on the stage of the local crappy dive bar.
