Serious Eats: New York
Saigon Grill Owners Arrested for Falsifying Records
Noodles at Saigon Grill. Photograph by Robyn Lee
Simon Nget and his wife Michelle, the couple behind the city's popular Vietnamese mini-chain Saigon Grill, were arrested this morning. The two were charged on more than 200 counts—potentially worth four years in prison each—for fudging business records, allegedly to hide how many hours their immigrant delivery staffers worked.
In October, a federal judge awarded $4.6 million to 36 of the delivery workers, after finding blatant violations of minimum-wage laws (like paying them less than $2 an hour after they worked 11 to 13 hours a day).
This signifies a great win for the Boycott Saigon Grill protesters. Unfortunately, the food was actually well-reputed with Upper West Siders, but after the legal mess, many found another noodle soup source.