A celebrated restauranteur received a painful reminder of a common axiom: when it comes to criticism, it’s much harder to digest than it is to dish out. Maya Lovelace, chef/owner of two Portland eateries, made waves when she began soliciting and posting to her Instagram account anonymous criticisms of other restaurants by current or former employees. Lovelace’s posts seemed quite timely; both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests helped to embolden servers to share their stories of hardship, which focused on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The posts spurred a number of public responses from the restauranteurs in question.

Lovelace was caught flat-footed, however, when similar posts surfaced online about her own establishments. One such post was from former server Berlin Clark, who wrote: “It’s incredibly ironic for you to be calling out other restaurants for toxic and hostile work environments when you need to take a hard, long look at your own.”

Clark was among several former servers who accused Lovelace of bullying and microaggressions, particularly in reference to the sole Black employee at one of her establishments, who also alleged an unfair pay disparity. These criticisms forced her to engage in some uncomfortable self-reflection.

Lovelace admitted in an interview.

The biggest lesson to learn in all of this is that we failed to make our staff comfortable enough to make these accusations to us … They needed to be able to say things publicly to force us to be in that conversation with them. I appreciate that, because it gives me a chance to learn and be better.

Possible Preaching Angle:

If we are eager to shine a light on others' misdeeds without being equally willing to examine our own, the good we attempt is negated when others discover what we are unwilling to see ourselves.