Manayunk restaurant enveloped in controversy after employees say they weren't paid

A beloved Manayunk restaurant is at the center of a growing controversy, as employees say they aren’t getting paid, while others say they were suddenly fired.

What we know:

FOX 29 cameras were rolling when reporter Steve Keeley walked through the open doors to get Winnie’s side of the story. She seemed to see Keeley and headed straight into the kitchen.

Keeley attempted to talk with her, "Winnie, Winnie. She doesn’t wanna talk?"

Others inside the restaurant stated the establishment was closed, to which Keeley stated, "I’m not being here cause it's open, I wanna talk to Winnie about what's going on with the employees. Can you ask her at least?"

A gentleman inside answered, "She's not talking to anybody right now. She'll make a comment when it's appropriate."

Timeline:

The doors were then locked as Keeley went outside. A few minutes later, a tearful Winnie unlocked a door and appeared briefly. She stated, "There was a mistake made. I’ve been here for 22 years, and I’ve never taken advantage of anyone ever."

Posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page this week, one could read:

"It’s cold outside. Winnie is flying south to Florida for a few days and decided to give the team the same luxury to hibernate, too. The restaurant will be open again on Friday."

That hit a few angry replies about going on vacation while not paying her employees.

A relative then came out to tell Keeley she would pay all the employees. By then, several former workers had shown up, looking to get paid. They were told to walk around the block to the back of Winnie’s.

FOX 29 followed along with those former employees. Some came out saying they did get paid.

Big picture view:

Then a friend came out to speak for Winnie.

"People can post whatever they want on social media. Winnie is in a very vulnerable place right now she's had a very horrible month. Her mother passed away and then her number two guy, Sean, who you may have heard about on Christmas Eve. He was not only helping to run the restaurant, she was grooming him take over the restaurant," Joan Denenberg, Winnie’s friend, stated. "Which means he was involved in everything, the finances and the paychecks and it’s taken its toll on Winnie. It's not an excuse but it's an explanation. There were some mistakes made in accounts. She is doing everything to make good. She is paying everybody."

Keeley asked, "Why did she say she was going to Florida?"

Denenberg replied, "That was a mistake. She never went to Florida."

In what one former employee said was a bit of karma, the frigid cold froze and burst the pipes In Winnie's and a plumbing company was on scene making repairs and had a heater warming the pipes through the damaged hanging insulation.

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