'It's angering': Victoria restaurants claim food delivery service owes them thousands
Several Victoria restaurants that were hoping to support a local delivery service say they're out thousands of dollars since the company has failed to pay them.
Clif Lier, owner of Fol Epi in downtown Victoria, says the financial challenges of running a restaurant have compounded recently, and he claims that he's owed thousands of dollars from local food delivery company Tutti.
The restaurant owner says he turned to Tutti and its food delivery app during the pandemic because it offered cheaper prices than large corporations – like DoorDash and Uber Eats – and because he wanted to support another local company.
"We are strong supporters of local business and local producers," he told CTV News on Thursday.
But, he says things went sour several months ago when he discovered that Tutti owed him thousands of dollars.
"It's angering," he said. "We worked so hard to make this money over the past few months."
Fol Epi owner Clif Lier is pictured. (CTV News)
Leir says the company still owes him about $4,000, despite multiple requests from him.
"That's $4,000 from our bottom line, and bottom lines these days are almost nothing. So it's very hard," he said.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CLAIMS
Fol Epi isn't the only business that claims it's owed money from Tutti.
J & J Wonton Noodle House in Victoria has launched a lawsuit against the company, alleging that Tutti breached its contract and owes it more than $200,000.
Meanwhile, Cold Comfort Ice Cream owner Autum Maxell says she's also owed more than $4,000 from the delivery company, despite multiple requests to collect the payment.
"[About] $4,236 dollars or something like that," she said.
Maxwell went public with her concerns on a Facebook page that quickly generated multiple complaints – including one from a Tutti delivery driver who told CTV News that she wasn't paid until she threatened to go public.
Cold Comfort Ice Cream in Victoria is pictured. (CTV News)
The company says it's working on paying all of the restaurants it works with.
"Please know that we have every intention to pay all the local merchants we are working with, as soon as possible," said Tutti Delivery CEO Kaisa Aierken in a statement Thursday.
"We are going through a difficult phase as well and we intend to solve it soon and get back the support of our merchants as soon as possible."
In the meantime, Maxwell says she's skeptical of the promise.
"If they actually had intentions of paying everyone back, it probably would have been happening," she said.
The restaurants that spoke with CTV News on Thursday no longer use Tutti, instead relying on bigger delivery companies.
None of the allegations have been tested or proven in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.