S04.E03: The Soup Market

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

A chain of soup restaurants in Milwaukee suffers in the wake of the sudden death of a co-owner who kept the company's finances in order.

[Primetimer]

Will there be no soup for Marcus Lemonis and his latest prickly investment partner? And other not-quite-burning questions.

View the full article

[Jamoche]

I couldn't figure out what potential he saw in this place. The recipes? Marcus wants them to be tweaked, and Dave is incapable of that. The look? Changed entirely. The employees? Same thing here as I felt about a lot of Kitchen Nightmares - the best thing that could happen to the non-owners would be for the place to collapse and them to get better jobs someplace sane.

[pbutler111]

What happens to the $315,000 Marcus gave to this scumbag? It just goes up in smoke?

[guilfoyleatpp]

What a sleazebag! And all that signage and POS effort? Because this sod is too lazy to enter it?

he's not interested in success.

[krawz555]

32 minutes ago, pbutler111 said:

What happens to the $315,000 Marcus gave to this scumbag? It just goes up in smoke?

Nope. The deals all have contingencies and back out options. Marcus loses the physical stuff that was spent....usually on the renovations. This happened a few years ago with the toy company (they hated the NASCAR association).  Marcus spent tons of money on 3D printers and office equipment. I *think* he took some of it back or left it and took the loss. But if he backs out, all his money he offered up to wipe out debts and pay off vendors goes with him.

That being said, I loved this episode. I wanna know who wrote into the show for help?? The owner was resistant the entire way. And his wife??? Creeping up everywhere!  Marcus, "Why the hell are you here?? Again??"  It's was all so awkward. 

I love soup but that place, those soups, that icky thick bread just looked gross. I LOVED the pretzel idea. Otherwise get fresh crusty bread to dip. Wonder how their doing now.

[selhars]

I hope I'm not alone in this, but I LOVE thick, hearty soups. So all the soups Marcus wanted to change would have been fine with me. Healthier version yes. But an almost porridge consistency for some soups is what they should have.

NOT every soup is brothy, Marcus. One place I get soup has a Kale, Turkey, While Rice soup that nice and thick -- and perfect.

I don't know what to make of the "drama" so far this season. And the Grace complication this week? WTF?

I am still hopelessly in love with Marcus' facial reactions, though. His looks of surprise. shock, confusion and wonderment are what I watch for. They keep my tuning in waiting to see the next reaction shot.

[beesknees]

20 minutes ago, selhars said:

I hope I'm not alone in this, but I LOVE thick, hearty soups. So all the soups Marcus wanted to change would have been fine with me. Healthier version yes. But an almost porridge consistency for some soups is what they should have.

NOT every soup is brothy, Marcus. One place I get soup has a Kale, Turkey, While Rice soup that nice and thick -- and perfect.

I don't know what to make of the "drama" so far this season. And the Grace complication this week? WTF?

I am still hopelessly in love with Marcus' facial reactions, though. His looks of surprise. shock, confusion and wonderment are what I watch for. They keep my tuning in waiting to see the next reaction shot.

Yeah, I had to laugh out loud when Marcus told the owner to make the soups healthier and the owner just looked at Marcus like a deer caught in the head lights.   Um, Marcus?  You lived in Milwaukee  long enough so you know damned well that we Milwaukeeans flove our heavy food and heavy drink.  Healthy?  What the hell is that?  Cut the fat, salt, and calories in the food?  Dude, dem's is fightin' words around these parts.  You could just see the wheels turning in the owner's head when Marcus suggested adding/incorporating fiber (bwah ha ah ha!!!) into some of the soups.

The owner was a big douche and oy, that sexual harassment suit filed by the employee will be killing his business now that the episode aired.  I was going to try the restaurant but now I don't want to give that idiot my business.  Instead I think I'll mosey over to Yelp and see what the reviews are.

Oh, and the wife was odd.  I cracked up every time Marcus said the word "lurking" and mentioned how she kept randomly popping up.

Edited September 7, 2016 by beesknees

[Lola16]

There's more to the story about Grace and the chef. As soon as everyone got quiet, I assumed affair. No wonder the wife was always around. She wasn't keeping Grace away from the cameras, she was keeping her husband away from Grace.  Honey, if you have to watch him like a pit bull, he's a cheater, and he ain't worth it. Wonder if she was helping to bankroll the company.

You could tell in his eyes that he was just yessing Marcus to get the investment and as soon as Marcus left, he'd change stuff back.  Now, I wasn't thrilled with the new store look either, but I'd have just modified it so that the signage was more readable and let it ride for a year.

As for the soups, I want variety. I want a thin broth with chunks of meat & veggies that's relatively low on sodium. I also want a nice hearty vegetarian bean soup that's stew like.  And I want a decadent thick rich creamy mushroom soup that will fill me for days.  I would think the business would do well to have light, medium, hearty categories so that everyone has something based on what they are in the mood for.  And no chef, it's not OK not to tell people the nutritional content (or lack thereof) and calorie counts when they ask. At a minimum, that needs to be on your website.

Marcus can take a seat with "You're not the only one who cooks. I cook too." when addressing a chef with professional training. Did he learn that from Bethenny?

Marcus brought in the sign guy. Have we seen him before?  I remember some sign shop down south that wanted a deal but also were inflexible so Marcus walked. Wonder if they are kicking themselves now.

The pretzels - meh. I love a good pretzel and a good pretzel bun. But a big old no to putting some crap toppings on and saying you just created a dessert category.

It seems to me that Marcus sometimes goes ahead with these deals because he wants to franchise or add to his complementary business stable --- which would be OK except he is going ahead with deals that he wouldn't do otherwise.  Like that horrible stitch apparel company in Queens with the shady people and bad finances.  And this guy who is a liar and bad people manager, petulant, stubborn, not good with finances and some personal/professional drama --- plus the recipes have to change, the process has to change, the stores have to change --- so what's good enough to go out with? The name?

[BusyOctober]

I don't understand how a business owner with multiple stores doesn't know the cost per item.  Isn't that part of a business plan?  Wouldn't a bank want to know some of those details before making loans?  At the very least, as a lender I'd want to make sure the biz owner had some working knowledge of his/her financials.  Unless he avoided bank loans all together?  Maybe his pop up prairie dog creeper wife is funding the stores?  

The whole Grace issue was hinky from the jump.  I assumed an affair as well, but the EEOC filing was a surprise; not as much a surprise that Dave hit on her, but that Grace was still hanging around the place with such an a-hole boss.  I know good jobs are tough to come by, and the person being harassed shouldn't have to run away from their livelihood.  But could Dave have really been paying Grace so well it was worth it to stay? For TWO years after he showed what a dick head he was?  And not only is Dave a stubborn jackass, he's incredibly stupid too.  He obviously didn't consult a lawyer before firing Grace.  How can he have a leg to stand on re. a retaliation/retribution charge from his employee with a FILED EEOC COMPLAINT??

The business itself...meh.  I like a good (homemade) soup but I've never been motivated to go to a quick serve joint and order any.  We used to have a chain "Soup-er Salad" around here.  It was in the mall near my office and we'd go there for lunch sometimes.  I don't think I ever ordered a soup.  Salads were good and they had an awesome chicken avocado wrap.  I think they called their wrapped sandwiches/salads "walk abouts".

[Cranky One]

That was one bizarre episode! I immediately thought that Grace and Dave had an affair, too. Did I hear correctly that they were childhood friends? The wife lurking in the shadows and appearing out of nowhere was hilarious!

During a cold winter, you want a hearty soup. But, I get offering a lighter version. I don't get how this guy is making any money if he doesn't know his costs, especially with 5 locations. There's more to this story, I think.

The soups must be good as the reviews on their Facebook page were mostly 5 stars until last night! They are getting reamed!

ETA...looks like they disabled their FB page. I caught some of it last night and it was brutal!

Edited September 7, 2016 by Cranky One

[toodles]

This episode made me go hmmmm.  It was pretty obvious that Dave and Grace had an affair.  Why she would want this guy is beyond me but whatever.

I thought Marcus phoned this one in.  I get that he may have wanted a business in his college town, but this one?  Not so much.

This guy fired Marcus.  Why didn't he just say screw you and leave?  Hmmmm.

[attica]

8 hours ago, Lola16 said:

But a big old no to putting some crap toppings on and saying you just created a dessert category.

Hard disagree. Chocolate-covered pretzels are a national goddamn treasure, and I am here for all fancy saucy iterations of it.. :)

 

1 hour ago, BusyOctober said:

I don't understand how a business owner with multiple stores doesn't know the cost per item. 

1 hour ago, BusyOctober said:

How can he have a leg to stand on re. a retaliation/retribution charge from his employee with a FILED EEOC COMPLAINT??

To the first: This might have been the purview of the dead partner, so I can let it go. Although if I were the surviving partner, I'd panic my way into knowing that stuff before the casket gets lowered into the ground. To the second, yeah, this bit of stupidity made me howl. Enjoy paying damages, Dave!

I did find myself agreeing with Dave's pique at not having any say in the reno. Marcus talks all the time about bringing your people with you, but he does these massive overhauls on just his own say-so. Would it kill you to have a meeting and be, you know, persuasive about the physical changes you want to make?  

And, yeah, the sign guy is from another ep (S3E7). His massive earnings increase is no doubt due (at least in part) to the business Marcus throws his way.

[Gregg247]

I was convinced that this would be one of those episodes where we see 2 different companies in the same hour, as the soup owner was obstinant and angry from the get-go.  Once again, I have to question Marcus' business savvy in choosing some of these businesses to partner in..  The soup stores were making a nice profit on their own, so Marcus didn't really bring much to the table, unless Dave just REALLY wanted to have 50 stores instead of 5, and thought Marcus was the easy way to get there.  I loved how Dave bad-mouthed The Simple Greek! lol  That's a fast way to get under Marcus' skin.

The whole Grace thing was stupid.  Is Marcus so deluded that he couldn't figure out that there was a serious, deal-killing problem when the owner refuses to discuss a certain employ's name on-camera, and all the other employees are told to never mention her?  The fact that Dave removed his mic and stormed out on Day 1 rather than discuss the issue, and Marcus didn't simply walk away makes me think that the train was rolling down the tracks pretty far at that point, and Marcus "couldn't" leave, due to production reasons.  Marcus tells us that this is a business deal that's documented on TV rather than a TV show about business, but situations like this one make me question that concept.

I was happy to see Dean from Precise Graphics (he was the guy who Marcus almost fired once), but I didn't like Marcus' "improved" store design; it looked like a fish market rather than a soup store.

Dave is the kind of small business owner who builds his own business simply because he wants to be in charge and doesn't want to hear anyone else's opinion about anything.  These guys can do some amazing work, and find great success, but, boy, they can be difficult to deal with!

[Crs97]

My first guess was affair, but I did end up believing that Grace totally did not share Dave's feelings.  The owner irritated me from the beginning because, of course the best way to honor your beloved partner's memory is to screw over his family.  Not saying he did anything illegal (that comes later), but patting himself on the back that he knew the estate undervalued the interest really bothers me.  Hope it hadn't all settled before this show aired and they could renegotiate the buy-out, but then again maybe the estate knew about the EEOC filing and just wants to cut all ties with this loser.  Anyway, the executor should have needed to hire a professional to value the stores for estate tax purposes if nothing else; all the data Marcus wanted should have been readily available.

I didn't completely agree with Marcus, but I did think his soup selection just needed balance.  You have to know and disclose the nutritional value of each, and just make sure you have broth choices along with the heavier fare.  I don't know that I would love the pretzel idea with the soup (I like my baguette, although not if it tasted frozen), but Dave clearly took to it by making it into dessert fare as well so I don't understand his dumping the pretzels for ice cream of all things.

I cannot believe that Dave admitted everything about Grace on air.  That is one of those settlement scenarios that ends with "How many zeros should I add after this number, Grace?"   Did anyone else think it was strange that they had the big blow up about not inviting Grace to the opening and then she left after it was supposedly resolved?!?  I wanted to see how Dave's wife reacted when Grace walked in with Dave and Marcus.  That would have been some good television.  I can't imagine her job is necessarily all that safe anymore at the university.  Nothing a school likes better than to have parents know their children will be around a lurker.

[pbutler111]

11 hours ago, krawz555 said:

Nope. The deals all have contingencies and back out options. Marcus loses the physical stuff that was spent....usually on the renovations. This happened a few years ago with the toy company (they hated the NASCAR association).  Marcus spent tons of money on 3D printers and office equipment. I *think* he took some of it back or left it and took the loss. But if he backs out, all his money he offered up to wipe out debts and pay off vendors goes with him.

That being said, I loved this episode. I wanna know who wrote into the show for help?? The owner was resistant the entire way. And his wife??? Creeping up everywhere!  Marcus, "Why the hell are you here?? Again??"  It's was all so awkward. 

I love soup but that place, those soups, that icky thick bread just looked gross. I LOVED the pretzel idea. Otherwise get fresh crusty bread to dip. Wonder how their doing now.

I'm pretty sure that Grace said she either contacted the show herself or encouraged dumbass Dave to do so.  If I had been Grace and/or that guy who was pretty much running the place (I forget his name), I would've gone to Marcus and said, "We love everything you did, and we're completely on board for this kind of chain.  Back us, and we'll start a new place that we can franchise across the country."  All they'd need is a new name and some new soup recipes.  Sucks that all the employees will likely end up without jobs when the company inevitably goes under after the also inevitable judgment against Dave.

[pbutler111]

10 hours ago, beesknees said:

Yeah, I had to laugh out loud when Marcus told the owner to make the soups healthier and the owner just looked at Marcus like a deer caught in the head lights.   Um, Marcus?  You lived in Milwaukee  long enough so you know damned well that we Milwaukeeans flove our heavy food and heavy drink.  Healthy?  What the hell is that?  Cut the fat, salt, and calories in the food?  Dude, dem's is fightin' words around these parts.  You could just see the wheels turning in the owner's head when Marcus suggested adding/incorporating fiber (bwah ha ah ha!!!) into some of the soups.

The owner was a big douche and oy, that sexual harassment suit filed by the employee will be killing his business now that the episode aired.  I was going to try the restaurant but now I don't want to give that idiot my business.  Instead I think I'll mosey over to Yelp and see what the reviews are.

Oh, and the wife was odd.  I cracked up every time Marcus said the word "lurking" and mentioned how she kept randomly popping up.

I would SO much rather be single/divorced than have a husband I felt I needed to keep under personal surveillance 24/7.

[beesknees]

On a shallow note I have to say I HATED the store renovation.  UGGG-LEEEEE.  I liked the floors, that was about it.  Co-sign on the poster up thread who said no to pretzels with soup vs. bread.  I want to dunk a thick slab of warm, fresh, buttered bread in my soup not a salty pretzel.  I think owner Dave should obvi offer a mix of light and healthy soups with a more "stick to your ribs" kind of fare depending on the season.  

Maybe highlight more lighter, thinner, less caloric soups during summer?  Fresh (cold) cucumber soup? or something similar, refreshing would have hit the spot this month or last.  We've had a record hot summer here in Milwaukee.  Positively opressive. Today's temp is BRUTAL (for example) and I'm not thinking goulash soup or soup made with pork fried in bacon fat.  Get back to me around the end of October for that.

I think owner Dave has a decent idea but his general lack of numbers is going to put him out of business. The wife running around all over God's green earth trying to keep her husband away from Grace - epic fail!  That is a losing game.  Grace seemed like a very competent, professional person.  I would think she would have no problem finding a better job.  Employers are looking for professionals like her so I am wondering why she stayed.

I dunno.  If Grace phoned the show and asked Marcus to come I would probably stick around too to see how things panned out and what Marcus could do.  However, too much damage has been done (i.e. - EEOC filing) so I cannot fathom how she and owner Dave have any chance in hell getting their work/business relationship back on track.  If Grace and Dave were such best friends, etc. and had a good personal relationship I would think she'd hold off on the EEOC thing and try to work things out but something baaad must have happened for her to proceed with a lawsuit (and you know no one's giving the deets on exactly what Dave did!)

Edited September 7, 2016 by beesknees

[PBSLover]

Sarah Bunting,
You make me laugh and laugh. I love your posts. But I gotta disagree with lots of what you wrote above.

a) I so agree about WTF was Marcus sticking around for after Dave hurumpfed out of the restaurant when Marucs pushed about Grace. His patience or whatever motivates him, is better than most of the human race it seems.

b) The Soup Market was a not a stand; there was seating. It was a proper store. Have you been to the soup stand that was the Seinfeld inspiration? I have. It’s like a newspaper kiosk and there is only one. Since there are five Soup Market locations, it was a smart question for Marcus to ask if Dave had a concept.

c) Soup is lighter meal. But it is definitely a meal. That is what I think Marcus meant when he asked him about additional options.

d) Lastly, I think the wife is problem with Grace. We never heard about what her employment deal was with the company and I certainly don’t know EEOC rules. I think so much of this story was not pursued because Marcus knew he was never going to become partners with this shit heel.

Cheers!

[Jamoche]

11 hours ago, Lola16 said:

There's more to the story about Grace and the chef. As soon as everyone got quiet, I assumed affair. No wonder the wife was always around. She wasn't keeping Grace away from the cameras, she was keeping her husband away from Grace.  Honey, if you have to watch him like a pit bull, he's a cheater, and he ain't worth it. Wonder if she was helping to bankroll the company.

Well, I've been on the receiving end of unjustified "You hussy, you talked to my husband!!!" accusations. Yeah. We're coworkers. Kind of goes with the job. In this case partially justified - I'm sure he was a wannabe cheater, but Grace seemed to be all no-nonsense "let's just avoid as much drama as we can". From Dave's deer in the headlights reaction to everything related to the company, I would not be surprised if Grace was the only reason it was doing as well as it was.

[PBSLover]

12 hours ago, Lola16 said:

Marcus brought in the sign guy. Have we seen him before?  I remember some sign shop down south that wanted a deal but also were inflexible so Marcus walked. Wonder if they are kicking themselves now.

Marcus made a deal with another sign company.

[PBSLover]

4 hours ago, attica said:

I did find myself agreeing with Dave's pique at not having any say in the reno

Marcus is 100% in charge, remember?  Ha!

[PBSLover]

10 minutes ago, Jamoche said:

I would not be surprised if Grace was the only reason it was doing as well as it was.

Then why did they have broken equipment?  This was such an odd episode.

[ae2]

Ugh.

Drinking game time! Take a shot every time Marcus says he shouldn't invest in this business, he should walk away now, he has a bad feeling, that he isn't getting the whole truth.

Marcus: why don't YOU give US the whole truth? The only reason you went through this whole wreck was because it made for "good" reality television. There was approximately zero percent chance this deal would last.

Pretzels and soup? I mean, I'd give it a try, but nearly every soup lovers expect a good, crusty bread. You won't be a successful soup place without one. Offer the pretzel if you want, but you have to have bread too.

Otherwise, I felt most of Marcus' recommendations this episode were good ones. He needed to have a variety of soup options. The stores need consistent branding if they're going to expand. Even if the result wasn't spectacular, it was better for a chain than the run down shopping center, used to be a pizza place, then a Chinese place, then a pizza place again look.

Not worth getting into the Grace stuff because, well, we only know a small fraction of the story edited for a television show centered around a guy who has good reason to show the business owner in a bad light. No point making judgments based off that.

Maybe we can have a drama free episode next week?

[beesknees]

29 minutes ago, PBSLover said:

Then why did they have broken equipment?  This was such an odd episode.

I got the feeling that owner Dave was responsible for blocking that (i.e. - allowing new equipment to be bought).  Grace was the original operating/general manager (or whatever they called it).  Since Dave was in the process of "firing" her (cough, cough) Kevin was put in charge part time to take Grace's place.  It seemed Kevin's hands were tied as well.  More poor decision making by the owner.

[PBSLover]

Why the hell would she stay there? I wouldn’t.

[Cranky One]

A little backstory on The Soup Market. His partner passed away in 2/2015. Dave should know the numbers by now.

Sooo....it looks like Grace and Dave owned a Brownie Business together.

Quote

In early 2014, owner Dave Jurena and Grace Ludewig (seen on the show) launched a business called Grace Magnolia Luxury Brownies.  Here is an article about the business and how it was launched as well as a video interview on the local news with both Dave and Grace.  The brownies were being sold in all The Soup Market locations and online.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Cranky One

[ClareWalks]

I am pleased that I could tell halfway through the truth of the Grace situation with some accuracy. My guess was Dave had a thing for Grace that wasn't reciprocated, and Dave's wife found out and is insanely jealous and possessive now. I felt bad for Grace. Dave is creepy as fuck and a terrible businessman. 

[Amarsir]

Marcus needs a zero-tolerance policy on partners who lie to him. He said Grace wasn't an employee anymore, then it turns out she was. That should have been the only sign he needed to get out.  We've seen other owners lie to him on this show, and I can't think of any examples where everything turned out OK in the end.

That said, a digital menu board makes a lot of sense when your offerings change day-to-day. Using fresh vegetables as a display sounds horribly impractical. And pretzels are an interesting choice but not an across-the-board replacement for bread.  I'm with him on adding lighter options, though "add some fiber to the African Nut Soup" doesn't sound like the most logical approach.

Did Marcus say they sold 56 new The Simple Greek franchises in 4 months? That's impressive. I wouldn't mind another follow-up on that. (Probably featuring the asshat owner of that business being bought out finally.)  In fact, isn't it odd that we're so far into the season without a followup episode? Normally it's the second (and last) thing they do every half-season, but now we're setting up for 4 new businesses in a row.

[Lola16]

Well according to Tim's sister, Grace inappropriately flirted and touched other men (maybe her brother?) and has a criminal record.

Who knows.  I'm sure more will come out.

I didn't get all wounded flower from Grace. There was something between her and douchy owner. Plus she looked like she was hiding something.

According to the article Cranky posted, Grace & Dave met in 2012. Dave made it seem like they were friends for a long time. Again, something is off.

She claimed to be the ops manager, still in charge, still working, still receiving a paycheck, but hiding from the cameras at Dave's request due to his wife's issues. Then why is so much in disrepair? Why does she call it a relationship issue if it's sexual harassment? Why does she pace outside the grand re-opening of the remodeled store and lash out like a jilted lover - only to walk away when she gets a lame apology? If she's afraid of anything, my guess it would be of the wife confronting her in public.  And who called the wife to let her know that Grace showed up at the other location?  Someone did. Someone who doesn't see Grace a a wound flower or great boss either.

Fishier than clam chowder.

[Lola16]

Yea, that didn't take long. No wonder Grace didn't want to be near Dave's wife. She would have outed Grace for her multiple felonies (arrests, guilty pleas, and years served). Dave probably liked the crazy and enjoyed the attention. Until it got to bunny boiling time and his wife had enough.  According to court records (and in WI alone, there are many), Grace was stripped of her weapons and her right to own them, ordered to undergo pysch treatment and alcohol rehab.  Her driving infractions are the lowest of the charges.

Do we know when Dave fired Grace? It shows that the soup company filed for a restraining order against Grace on 6/15.  Marcus was smart to bail on this one. hope he stays far away.

[Cranky One]

6 hours ago, Lola16 said:

Well according to Tim's sister, Grace inappropriately flirted and touched other men (maybe her brother?) and has a criminal record.

Who knows.  I'm sure more will come out.

 

Lola---was all this in the link I posted and I missed this? (wouldn't be the first time!). Can you post a link as I'd like to read the sordid details of the not so wounded flower, Grace.

The more I think about it, she wanted her grand entrance on TV. She obviously knew they were filming when she came barging in. You'd think she'd stop and introduce herself first. This gets weirder and weirder.

[Whimsy]

I agree.  I never got wounded flower, or any other analogy, from Grace either.  I don't understand why she was still there if a restraining order was filed.  That seems especially weird.  Also, it seems like a very bad business model to have one of your higher staff positions held by someone with all of those infractions on her record.  This one was really super weird.  I agree that Marcus should've just walked out instantly when the first lie came out.  But, it's a show and it has us all talking so mission accomplished.

Overall- I think both Dave and Grace were shady as all hell and neither of them should be running a business.  I am a hard-core lover of soup and was excited when the show started, but I will never eat soup by these people no matter how great it tastes.

[Crs97]

When I google her name, I don't get anything beyond the brownies and this show.  Could someone please give us the link to her rap sheet?

Kevin and Stefani deserve better than to work at this place.

Has no one heard of Zoup!?  The idea of franchising a soup, salad, and sandwich place isn't as revolutionary as Marcus was making it out to be.

[Whimsy]

3 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

Has no one heard of Zoup!?  The idea of franchising a soup, salad, and sandwich place isn't as revolutionary as Marcus was making it out to be.

We have no soup franchises around us and it makes my heart weep. 

[Corgi-ears]

Yeah, that episode made me feel dirty, and not in a fun way. There's personal drama -- which I can almost accept Marcus wanting to inject into some episodes, because television -- and then there's this. I too didn't get the sense that Grace was a wounded flower (something, perhaps, about the rehearsed and melodramatic way she said, "How daaaaaaare you" during the final confrontation). I can imagine a situation where there was an affair, and when it ended -- or got ended by the wife -- the man got all harass-y, but the woman also got stalker-y. I'm not saying that's what happened here, and I would never want to blame the victim, but I'm also mad at the show for broaching such sticky issues that it never intended, nor can hope to resolve.

I need a break from the show, and something to cleanse the palate. Perhaps sou...oh, never mind.

[Brooklynista]

50 minutes ago, GenL said:

We have no soup franchises around us and it makes my heart weep. 

Not even a Hale and Hearty or Panera Bread?  Aye, bendito.

[attica]

"She's a slut and a criminal!" is such a tired, hacky accusation thrown at an inconvenient woman since forever, my immediate reaction is to disbelieve it. But it'll gain traction, because it always has since forever. Because creepy-assed dudes who hit on unreceptive women would have NO motivation to paint her as the aggressor, right? And a creepy-assed dude that fires a woman who objects to being harassed at work can't exactly fire himself, right? So she has to go, and he has to make himself look like a not-villain. And who better to fertilize that ground than the dead partner's widow? Ugh.

[Whimsy]

1 hour ago, Brooklynista said:

Not even a Hale and Hearty or Panera Bread?  Aye, bendito.

We do have Panera and I eat there frequently.  I momentarily forgot about that. 

Re: Grace being painted as a "slut and criminal"- If she actually has a record (which I don't know for a fact, but was sited here), then she has a record.  You can't dispute that. 

I don't think anyone was saying she was a slut, though.  She may or may not have had an affair.  She also may just be the recipient of totally unwanted attention from a total creeper.  The restraining order does nothing to prove either one to me as Dave could just take that out to "prove" to his wife some bullshit story even if he was the one in the wrong.  Either way, she was definitely treated inappropriately.  If they were in a mutual relationship and they ended it I feel the both mishandled the situation.  If he sexually harassed her, she had every right to file with the EEOC.  I personally don't get why she stayed because I would've wanted to get away from that even if it is ultimately unfair that my livelihood is destroyed by a disgusting jerk.  But, I still would've left because I would not want to look at his ugly mug ever again.

[ClareWalks]

The locations of the restaurants are confusing to me. Nothing on the north side, like near UW campus? Nothing on Marquette's campus? It seems like this would be a natural fit for a college campus. Maybe a location in or near the airport? Or near or in Mayfair Mall? 

[ae2]

The criminal record and inappropriate touching comments seem to come from a comment made on the Profit Update post. The author of the comment appears to come from Mary Talsky, which is the same last name as Dave's deceased partner. Another commenter claims that this is Tim Talsky's sister. While that is not verified, there is a Facebook page for Mary Talsky in Milwaukee that uses the same image as her Disqus gravatar. And there is a LinkedIn profile for Mary Talsky, a teacher, in the same area.

Here is the full comment:

Quote

Unfortunately this reality show like many others are taken so out of context in the edit, it is made to look like it's something it's not. If people really knew what was going on they'd understand Grace constantly flirted and inappropriately toched men. She has a criminal record and is out to Destroy an innocent man. The show was totally edited not to show you what all the employees thought of her and make Dave look bad. I am sure if the deal would have went through the whole show would of been edited totally different. Just another reality show of lies and manipulation for ratings.

[Whimsy]

15 minutes ago, ae2 said:

The criminal record and inappropriate touching comments seem to come from a comment made on the Profit Update post. The author of the comment appears to come from Mary Talsky, which is the same last name as Dave's deceased partner. Another commenter claims that this is Tim Talsky's sister. While that is not verified, there is a Facebook page for Mary Talsky in Milwaukee that uses the same image as her Disqus gravatar. And there is a LinkedIn profile for Mary Talsky, a teacher, in the same area.

Here is the full comment:

That's highly suspect.  I have no faith that anything this Mary person says is true, then.  Sounds like tons of bitter-cakes to me.

[ae2]

This is getting far far out of my comfort zone, but Wisconsin court records are available online if you wanted to search her record. From what I can tell, and I don't pretend to understand half of what these records actually mean, she plead guilty / no contest to three different theft cases, two of which were deemed as felonies and one as a misdemeanor.  There are mentions of alcohol treatment and psych treatment. Possibly jail time.

Criminal record? Yes. Nothing about about inappropriately touching people.

The Soup Market filed a harassment restraining order against Grace in June of this year, but it was not issued.

I didn't see any sort of sexual harassment cases, though these might be through a different system or not disclosed to the public. EEOC filings don't seem to be generally available to the public.

David seems to have foreclosed on his mortgage, and received a ticket for operating a vehicle without insurance. The Soup Market had no records except a wage garnishment for one of its employees.

Remember that this is a reality television show trying to spin a story.

Ugh. I need to go shower. 

[attica]

1 hour ago, GenL said:

You can't dispute that. 

I can dispute that it has anything to do with this, though.  And I would note that it isn't at all uncommon for a creeper to hit on women whose pasts make it easy to discredit them. 

[Cranky One]

47 minutes ago, ae2 said:

The criminal record and inappropriate touching comments seem to come from a comment made on the Profit Update post. The author of the comment appears to come from Mary Talsky, which is the same last name as Dave's deceased partner. Another commenter claims that this is Tim Talsky's sister. While that is not verified, there is a Facebook page for Mary Talsky in Milwaukee that uses the same image as her Disqus gravatar. And there is a LinkedIn profile for Mary Talsky, a teacher, in the same area.

Here is the full comment:

ahhh...thanks, AE2! I didn't read the comments.

[beesknees]

4 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

The locations of the restaurants are confusing to me. Nothing on the north side, like near UW campus? Nothing on Marquette's campus? It seems like this would be a natural fit for a college campus. Maybe a location in or near the airport? Or near or in Mayfair Mall? 

I'm telling you - Mayfair Mall, Brookfield Square (mall), and all points west of there would be $$$$ GOLD!  Affluent suburbs and all.  I live in this area and people/famlies FLOVE them some Panera Bread.  Always packed and a little bit pricey at that?  54th and Vliet location?  Ummmm .....  Can't see them getting too much traffic - used to be my old neighborhood now it seems sketchy.  It's near the Sherman Park area where the riots broke out a few weeks ago that made national headlines.

Edited September 8, 2016 by beesknees

[Lola16]

According to public records:

https://wcca.wicourts.gov/pager.do;jsessionid=894B289BEFB181C435D547F6AB31F6A7.render6?cacheId=07CFD38F9C07E63A8FE560EED443F36B&offset=0&sortColumn=0&sortDirection=DESC

Grace Magnolia Ladewig has 3 C class felonies in WI. I don't know about her home state of CA.  It seems she served time for theft.  There were at least 2 distinct charges of theft from employers (neither related to each other or the soup people). The 3rd charge, I don't know, it's not clear.

 

7 hours ago, attica said:

"She's a slut and a criminal!" is such a tired, hacky accusation thrown at an inconvenient woman since forever, my immediate reaction is to disbelieve it. But it'll gain traction, because it always has since forever. Because creepy-assed dudes who hit on unreceptive women would have NO motivation to paint her as the aggressor, right? And a creepy-assed dude that fires a woman who objects to being harassed at work can't exactly fire himself, right? So she has to go, and he has to make himself look like a not-villain. And who better to fertilize that ground than the dead partner's widow? Ugh.

Yea, it's easy to blame the victim, particularly when the victim is a female and a minority.  I'm not saying Dave wasn't sexually harassing her or isn't a creep. I am pointing out that there's more to Grace and the situation than was presented.  More than he said, she said.

There are no perfect victims. In court, and in media, and in public - victims get raked over the coals and examined more than the criminals most times. It's not right. But it is reality.

To me, watching the show, something rang false about Grace, Dave, and how their relationship was conveyed to us. How Dave got so upset and wasn't prepared to deal with questions. How the employees answered and didn't answer about Grace. How she barged past the day the cameras were there. How the wife was always lurking. How Dave seemed to make up the story to appease Marcus on the phone (like he rehearsed it with his wife).  How supposedly it was all resolved.  How Grace then paced outside the grand re-opening.  How Grace shouted "how dare you" etc at Dave. How Dave seemed totally nonplussed about it (as if that happened all the time). How Marcus played peace keeper.  How the wife was peering through the window the whole time. And then, how Grace walked away instead of going inside.

When I see partial truths, I wonder what else isn't true, what else is lurking?

[Cranky One]

If you have dirty laundry, whyyyyyy do you go on reality t.v.? Are you that much of a fame whore? I don't get it.

[toodles]

2 hours ago, Cranky One said:

If you have dirty laundry, whyyyyyy do you go on reality t.v.? Are you that much of a fame whore? I don't get it.

Why yes you do.  Just ask the duggars.

[hurrrz]

It just doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Why would you take part on a show when you know you have those kind of skeletons in the closet? It is bound to backfire on you, while you'd probably be able to keep the thing afloat for a while without the nation. Just look at Amy's Bakery on Gordon Ramsay's show. Same kinda deal.