Staff Reports
A renowned St. Petersburg restaurateur faces accusations of refusing to pay back wages to the former general manager of Proper Kitchen.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 6 in Pinellas County Circuit Court, Michael Rideout, a 35-year-old St. Petersburg resident, claims he is a minority owner of Watch the Throne, which does business as Proper Kitchen and Park & Rec.
Rideout previously worked at Mandarin Hide, another popular St. Petersburg restaurant.
Restaurateur Stephen Schrutt, 39, is best known as the person behind several eateries in downtown St. Petersburg. Schrutt’s establishments include The Avenue, Proper Kitchen & Cocktails, Park & Rec, and Kings Street Food Counter.
The lawsuit refers to Schrutt as “manager and majority owner” of Watch the Throne, which is listed as the defendant.
In late 2015, Schrutt disclosed that he would be opening an unnamed barbecue restaurant next door to The Avenue – located at 330 First Ave. S. in St. Pete – with Rideout serving as general manager.
That unnamed restaurant eventually became Proper Kitchen.
Rideout’s suit claims that in late 2015, Schrutt offered him a deal: help Schrutt prepare for the opening of two new establishments — Park & Rec, and Proper Kitchen — and he’d give Rideout a 5 percent stake in their holding company, Watch the Throne.
After allegedly spending the next 12 months doing “sweat equity” work, even with some unpaid work at Schrutt’s Kings Street eatery, Rideout says Schrutt refused to acknowledge Rideout’s 5 percent stake or otherwise compensate him for his labor.
Schrutt also allegedly declined to provide Rideout with copies of Watch the Throne’s bylaws or financial statements. Rideout is seeking damages for breach of contract.
In November 2017, the Tampa Bay Times reported that Schrutt was closing Proper Kitchen to create a second Park & Rec location.
On a side note, Rideout has a connection with Johnson Pope, the law firm representing him in the suit. Ryan Griffin, one of the attorneys at Johnson Pope, is listed as a co-owner of Mandarin Hide, the St. Petersburg restaurant where Rideout previously worked.
