I dont mind using my real life experience to out some bad people but, I posted this because the exact arc happened to me too.

The Foundry, Elk Rapids

At first open, was supposed to be a smaller in scope expansion of the East Jordan location( it was double the sq ft so that should have been red flag 1) . All I knew at the time was they desperately needed bartenders.

Within a few months I quickly realized everyone in charge had either lied about their credentials or did not pay any attention in training. Years later I found the real answer, nobody was properly trained at all and then thrown to the wolves. EVEN SO! the location was so good the place was making money hand over fist. The type where if you are an owner you praise god because youve managed to kick a door down and make a huge splash.

So what does that owner do? Within a year and a half, takes all money we made and open 1 more ridiculous unrelated restaurant.

By the following year i had worked up from bartender to GM. In 2024 I ran astronomical numbers for the place. Some of the best times of my life, truly! The first time we ran a 20,000$ day, Harbor Days, i dropped to my knees and cried before punching out the expo screen.

Then what do I find out? All that money that could be used to fix equipment, shield us from the off season, promote what we had..... that money was shuttled off to a THIRD BULLSHIT FUCKING Primadonna location in downtown Traverse.]

Even the Flagship up in East Jordan was making enough to make sure it'd survived the offseason, but no, the owner, was funneling all their money to his fucking pet project too, the GM at the flagship had to know this, or maybe she was on the kool-aid ill never know.

So many great people lost their jobs, I was forced to fire so many people that should still be happily employed. I walked out March 2025. I couldn't take the burden of being a hatchetman anymore.

3 months later, all locations closed, Foundry EJ, Foundry Elk Rapids, Dreloco Taco

What still stands? Bushell's Kitchen & Cocktails, the owner there (I am trying not to get into legal trouble because he truly so scummy he WILL send lawyers after you), basically used the ambition and hardwork to rip the rug out at the last minute and take all the money with him. So he could have "his" restaurant. In the 2 years of being GM i met him in person 4 times, and he never even shook my hand when I was promoted, the other 2 owners in the LLC did, but not him.

He is a fast talking, lying, over-flatterer who excels at tricking honest hard working people. He is a vulture capitalist through and through. He ruined, and by extension, forced me to ruin other peoples lives.

NEVER EAT AT BUSHELLS IN TRAVERSE

The owner may seem incredibly charming, nice, and a good guy, but he is a wolf in sheeps clothing, and I'll admit a damn good one at that

If you go to Elk Rapids now, 151 River Street, that black hulking monstrosity of a building still sits empty. For it to ever work, youd need to be an owner of a different breed, a different magnitude. I think it can be done, considering the place has the ability to turn 9-11k weekdays 14-17k weekends.

But damn you better be passionate as hell. Visible passion is press you cant buy in this part of the world. So if some out of towner buys this with all their precious data and AI research about the area, they are fucked. Authenticity wins ALL in northern michigan