The San Francisco bartender involved in the incident in which a couple physically and verbally attacked employees at Hazie’s has been fired.
Last month, a viral video showed a woman, Shireen Afkari, and her partner, Christian Bruchman, attacking staff at Hazie's, a popular restaurant co-owned by celebrity chef Joey Altman.
The December 15 clip begins with Afkari yelling at the staff and filming them on her phone.
Highlights
- Bartender Miguel Marchese was fired after a viral incident where an "intoxicated" couple assaulted Hazie's restaurant staff.
- Marchese defended his actions after Shireen Afkari violently pulled his hair and kicked him.
- He declined a $5,000 severance that required him not to sue or publicly criticize Hazie's.
Image credits: miss_little_ranter
Bartender Miguel Marchese said the disruptive couple entered the establishment at around 9:30 p.m. and sat at a table to order food and cocktails.
“They were verbally abrasive with one of the servers, very harsh with her,” Marchese, who recently lost his job at Hazie’s due to his reaction to the attack, told SFGate. "Just being difficult people. It was evident that they were intoxicated.”
Image credits: miss_little_ranter
Image credits: strava
When the manager intervened to escort the couple outside, Afkari reportedly ran into the kitchen and behind the bar to yell at employees.
“I’m trying to tell her with my hands, ‘OK, let’s just calm down, everybody, time to leave,’” Marchese said. “And everything just spirals into chaos.”
Afkari then attacked one of Marchese’s co-workers, who responded by slamming her to the ground in self-defense.
Image credits: miguelito_marchese
Following the incident, the bartender and other staff members ushered the couple out of the restaurant. Instead of calming down, Afkari continued acting violently outside.
Marchese said the woman suddenly began “kicking” him and wrapping his hair around her hand.
“She weaves it around her hand quite tightly, and she pulls on it for dear life. So that was quite a predicament to be stuck in,” he recalled.
Image credits: miguelito_marchese
The bartender then grabbed the woman’s phone and threw it down the street, explaining that he did so in the hope that she would chase after it “like a rabid dog going after a bone.”
After he broke free from her, Marchese tripped her, making her fall onto the pavement.
Image credits: miguelito_marchese
According to the Gazetteer San Francisco, the bartender was fired at the end of December. One of the restaurant owners reportedly told him that he was an insurance liability for tripping the customer and therefore could no longer work at Hazie's.
Marchese was reportedly offered $5,000 in exchange for signing a severance agreement under which he agreed not to sue the company or publicly criticize it, but he declined.
Despite his termination, the bartender stands by his actions, sharing, “I found it odd that I was getting fired when in reality, I did nothing wrong at the end of the day.
“There were just so many dubious things at play at the moment.”
SFGate reported that the severance agreement stated the reason for Marchese’s termination was a video that showed the employee “tripping the guest, which caused her to fall onto the sidewalk.”
Additionally, the legal document referenced a December 19 social media post by Marchese in which he criticized the restaurant’s chef, TV personality Joey Altman.
Image credits: miss_little_ranter
The bartender said the worker who slammed the woman to the ground inside the restaurant has not been fired.
“I ask people to put themselves in my shoes. Imagine that not only are you sick with laryngitis, but your hair is being viciously pulled out of your head,” Marchese expressed.
“I just want my health to get better and the water to settle down and not to have this constant stress.”
San Francisco residents have shown their support on the street, hugging Marchese or shaking his hand and telling him they are on his side, the ex Hazie’s employee shared.
Image credits: miss_little_ranter
The bartender told local media that he and other Hazie’s workers filed a claim in December to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) over alleged wage and tip theft. Hazie’s is now under investigation by the government agency.
Marchese also claimed he has been unable to access his San Francisco Medical Reimbursement Account, a city-mandated health care savings account funded by employers.
As for Afkari, the 32-year-old woman dubbed a “Karen” online was reportedly arrested on charges of public intoxication and taken to San Francisco County Jail. She was also fired from her job at Strava.
