This tenant support campaign was close to many of our hearts, as Yosandri has been a friend to SeaSol for over a decade. When Yosandri’s family friend N (a longtime SeaSol member) let us know during a meeting that Yosandri’s landlord had been horribly abusing his family, we offered tenant support. 

The landlord, Vincenzo Pepe (“Nino el Asqueroso”), was doing nightmarishly terrible things to his tenants. He thought he could get away with his misdeeds because his tenants are Spanish speakers, immigrants, and/or because some tenants are deaf. This evil landlord:

• threateningly toted hunting guns around the property
• entered their home and stole their food repeatedly
• used a young child as an interpreter to threaten illegal eviction to the deaf adults in the house, using foul language and swearing
• used the tenants’ water to wash his boat, then substantially overcharged them for utilities 
• shut off the washing machine and dryer
• shut off the family’s hot water out of cruelty in winter, and eventually shut off all the water and power to their home 
• moved himself into their house to try to make a case to evict them more easily
• stood outside their windows and took pictures of them
• poured gasoline around their home one night
• placed an unidentified white powder and various smelly items around the inside of their house to scare them

SeaSol came alongside Yosandri’s family and got them in touch with pro bono lawyers, who helped them address Nino’s abuse (shout-out to P, who went above and beyond to help!). SeaSol provided the family with mutual aid when Nino escalated his abuse, and did an in-person demand delivery to get Nino to turn the hot water back on in their home for a time.

With many members’ great effort and persistence, SeaSol won this fight! We celebrated victory because Yosandri and his family have moved into a new apartment, and are out of Nino’s abusive reach. Nino was forced to: 

1. pay the family back the security deposit he had illegally collected, 
2. acknowledge that the family did not owe the bogus utility bills he had been trying to collect, and 
3. pay the family a “cash for keys” agreement of $4,000. 

Although these wins didn’t undo Nino’s many crimes against their family, we consider the fact that Yosandri and his family walked away from this situation with a cashier’s check for $4,000 from Nino and are now safely living in a new apartment: a HUGE victory. 

Seattle Solidarity is shocked but not surprised that the owner of Merchant’s Cafe and Saloon, Darcy Hanson, closed down the restaurant abruptly and fired all workers at the end of 2024. After a flurry of online activity, Darcy said the bar is being closed “temporarily” under the guise of “renovations”. News articles reference that the space has outdated electrical systems and nonfunctional refrigeration equipment¹ , although no permits have been filed according to Seattle Services Portal².

‘“I had to let everyone go, it was pretty sudden,” says Anthony Powell, a supervisor and manager at Merchant’s. “I just told everyone: ‘work ‘til the end of the year and that’s it.’’¹

The building certainly needs the refurbishment, earning only an “okay” rating from King County Health Department, which cited the restaurant for not adhering to “raw meats below and away from ready to eat food” (gross), not “having a trained food manager onsite” (yikes), and not “using or storing correct sanitizers” (eww) for cleaning, among other citations (June 2024).³ According to a complaint in August 2024, food is no longer even prepared onsite and there is no cook employed at the cafe⁴ (oof). 

After 24 activists delivered the demand letter in September, Seasol and community members have:

• Taped hundreds and hundreds of posters from September through December to ask the community to boycott Merchant’s Cafe and pressure Darcy Hanson into paying the stolen tips. Posters like this one, this one, or this one.
• Held four actions handing out leaflets to passersby, including many unfortunate interactions with drunk post-game sports fans.
  • The risk of spiked drinks is so prevalent that one bar-goer told us, “if you haven’t been roofied at Merchant’s, did you even go there?”
• Put up posters around Darcy’s neighborhood in Bothell to alert the neighbors to a transphobic rape apologist in their area. Posters like this one.
• Sent postcards to Darcy’s neighbors letting them know about the transphobic rape apologist in their neighborhood

We certainly hope that this bar stays closed! It’s not safe for workers, LGBTQ+ people, or the community at large. If Darcy Hanson does decide to re-open, continue to boycott this shameful restaurant and tell everyone you know!

¹https://www.kuow.org/stories/last-call-at-merchant-s-cafe-saloon-seattle-s-oldest-bar-set-to-close

²https://services.seattle.gov/Portal/cap/CapHome.aspx?module=DPDGeneral&TabName=DPDGeneral

³https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/food-safety/search-restaurant-safety-ratings#/details/PR0003322

⁴Per documents received through a public disclosure request (Washington Public Records Act RCW 42.56)

Seattle Solidarity Network is excited to showcase the wins we have amassed over the past year and a half of active boycott and protest:

• Since starting the fight in March 2023, Seasol has held 43 pickets (and counting) at Royal India/Dastoor, decimating their business in both Kirkland and Lynnwood.
• We destroyed their business so much that after being shut down by the Fire Department for public safety in March 2024, Royal India Kirkland decided it was too much trouble to re-open.
• Seasol spilled ALL the tea to Seattle Times to highlight the states’ top wage thief. This caused the restaurant to change their name to Dastoor to try to get away from their terrible history – it has not worked because they barely have any business any more!
  • Read the Seattle Times article at https://bit.ly/seattletimesroyalindia
• When illegally keeping the restaurant open without a working refrigerator, Seasol activists called Public Health of Seattle & King County repeatedly to hold them accountable for illegal operation until they finally closed.
• Pressured the Attorney General to open an investigation into the blatant wage theft, and they did.

Over the course of our fight, Seasol has reduced Royal India to a single location, forced them to change their name in shame, and surrounded them with a community that is too embarrassed to enter their doors. Seattle Solidarity will always show up for workers, and workers can wield their collective power against abusive bosses like those at Dastoor/Royal India.

The non-chain restaurant with the most [L&I] complaints was Royal India, with two locations in Lynnwood and Kirkland. Owner Mohammad Rashid Bhatti and manager Aeisha Bhatti have been the subjects of at least 37 wage complaints from workers since 2018. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

On Sept 22nd, a group of 24 Seattle Solidarity Network members delivered a simple demand to Merchant’s Cafe and Saloon: pay the missing $200 in tips and $800 in severance pay to their former worker, Shilo. Shilo was subjected to a workplace rife with toxic transphobia and was ultimately fired after facing false accusations in her workplace, such as an “unexcused absence” when she was roofied and violently assaulted after work and missed her next shift. She came to SeaSol for help after this boss fired her and texted her repeatedly blaming her for the sexual assault. 

Transphobic Merchant’s owner Darcy Hanson decided on Monday, Sept 30 that her entire business is worth less than this $1000 she owes to a low-income worker, and is ready to “have her failing business ruined” by our direct action campaigns. Her AirBnBs above the restaurant will certainly also be affected.

We are all looking forward to fighting such a nasty boss and revealing to all of Seattle the horrible things Darcy has said and done. Pioneer Square deserves better than an unethical owner like Darcy Hanson exploiting workers in the neighborhood. With solidarity, Shilo will get her hard earned money and some justice after this terrible experience. 

BOYCOTT MERCHANT’S CAFE AND SALOON! See you soon, Darcy.

You may start seeing these posters around.

The Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol) is calling for a boycott of the Royal India Fine Dining & Catering restaurants in Kirkland (9714 Juanita Drive NE) and Lynnwood (7531 196th St SW). The restaurants are owned by Mohammad Rashid Bhatti and operated by his daughter, Aeisha Bhatti.

These bad bosses appear to have a long, shameful history of failing to pay their workers and other business debts. We have been approached by nine workers (and counting) with claims of stolen wages, illegal evictions, and other labor abuses.

SeaSol stands with former workers Juan and Pedro and demands that both are paid what they are owed. For more information, see www.royalindiawagetheft.com.