Six Houston Restaurants Will Close for a Week to Give Their Employees a Much-Needed Break

Starting next Monday, the six Houston restaurants operated by prolific restaurateurs Agricole Hospitality will close their doors for a week in an effort to provide some “much-needed” time off to its workers.

Agricole owners Morgan Weber, Ryan Pera, and Vincent Huynh will keep their establishments — including Revival Market, Coltivare, Eight Row Flint, Vinny’s, Indianola, and Miss Carousel — closed between September 6 and September 14 in an effort to give their employees time to relax after a brutal year of serving the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been an extremely challenging year, and we’re so proud of our team’s resilience, dedication, and drive to carry us to the other side of the pandemic,” the trio said in a statement to Eater. “We want to give our team an opportunity to decompress, spend time with loved ones, and focus on mental health after such a stressful and taxing year.”

During the week-long closure, Agricole’s owners say that all of the group’s employees will be paid their normal rate during the week of rest and relaxation.

Agricole isn’t the first restaurant in the country to close its doors to give staff a break, either. In June, a Cape Cod eatery went viral after it announced its decision to close for a day in order to give its staff a reprieve from relentless customer abuse. The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on service industry workers, who are forced to argue with customers about whether or not they have to wear masks and endure increased sexual harassment from diners. Some have even been subjected to physical violence, like the Houston bartender who was attacked by a customer and had a cocktail glass smashed over his head for enforcing his establishment’s mask requirement.

Once the week-long closure is over, all six of Agricole Hospitality’s establishments will resume their normal business hours on Wednesday, September 15.