The abrupt closure of Fleishers Craft Butchery — temporarily “through August,” according to a sign in the Riverside Avenue window — surprised Westporters.
The reason may be even more surprising.
The New York Post reports that “dozens of workers reportedly walked off the job after the CEO removed Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ pride signs that employees had put in the storefront windows.” The story was first reported by Forbes.
The closure affects 4 stores: 2 each in Connecticut and New York.
According to the Post, the issue began last month. “Rob Rosania, a leading investor in the butcher, received a text from a pal in Westport, Conn. who was offended by BLM signs in the company’s local storefront, Forbes reported.”
The Fleishers signs on Riverside Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Chloe Sorvino, for Forbes)
“Rosania, a San Francisco-based real estate developer, reportedly called Fleisher’s CEO John Adams and told him to get rid of the signs.
“Adams, who’s just two months into the job, jumped on a train from New York to Fleisher’s stores in Westport and Greenwich to remove the signs himself, according to Forbes.”
As of yesterday, the signs hung in Fleishers’ Westport window.
At least half of Fleishers workforce are people of color, non-binary or LGBTQ, the Post says.
Click here for the full Forbes story; click here for the full New York Post story.
