Barista Parlor Sees Further Employee Upheaval at Hillsboro, Marathon Village Locations

Thirteen more employees and a general manager quit Barista Parlor on Tuesday following last week's firings at the Germantown location. 

Emmy Albano was the general manager of Barista Parlor’s Hillsboro and Marathon Village locations. She told her staff that she would be leaving last week following the situation at BP Germantown, and the full staff of both locations decided to leave with her. She says after two years of working for the local coffee chain, she’d had enough of the “belittling” work environment.

“We weren't treated like people,” says Albano. She says that while some of the general managers, such as herself, had good relationships with their staff, others — like the Germantown location’s GM, who was promoted to director of operations — do not treat the employees with respect. “[The Germantown GM] was always sending aggressive emails and Slacks and was accusing them of lying, and wouldn't let them take time off even when it was a car emergency. Somebody's grandmother died, and [the GM] was pushing back on her getting time off. People can't stay at a company that doesn't value any type of work-life boundary.” 

Albano says that on Tuesday morning, she opened the Hillsboro shop, did final payroll for her employees, and then closed the shop, placing a letter on the door informing the community of her and her employees’ decision to leave. She then sent a separate resignation letter to management.

“There is no future for us at a company that does not value the hard work & dedication of its workers & continues to promote & support people who silence, dehumanize, & belittle the people who keep this company running & profitable,” reads the letter to management.

Albano says mistreatment of employees doesn’t stop at management, but goes all the way up to the owner, Andy Mumma, who she says she has had unpleasant interactions with. 

“He talks about the staff with absolutely no empathy or understanding of what it means to be a person,” alleges Albano. “I just think he sees numbers.”

The Scene reached out to Mumma for comment and received the following statement:

“Barista Parlor prides itself on its community roots, ethical products, and culture. It is a great place to work. We offer competitive wages (among the top of our industry peers), as well as attractive benefits including 401(k) match, healthcare insurance, free coffee, and PTO potential. 

Barista Parlor’s management is saddened by the perpetuation of an unjustified narrative recently advanced by a few former employees. In deference to our former, current, and future employees, we will not comment on specific personnel matters other than to say that employment decisions made by the company are based on job performance, adherence to company policies, and respecting Barista Parlor’s culture. The company has recently made several new hires and we are excited to have a passionate and enthusiastic staff to serve our wonderful customers in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead.”

This brings the total number of staff who have been fired or quit Barista Parlor over the past week to 24. The Germantown, Hillsboro and Marathon Village locations remain closed as of Wednesday. Albano says she has had conversations with employees from other locations who are unhappy with the environment. 

“I think the general feeling is that everybody wants to get out and not be associated anymore, but I think that practically speaking not everybody has been able to do that yet,” says Albano.