Bellingham cafe employees alleging unfair labor practices walk off the job, launch protest
Several employees at Evolve Chocolate + Cafe in Bellingham walked out of their jobs in January to protest what they are calling unfair labor practices and the wrongful firing of a staff member.
The fired employee, who requested anonymity, told The Herald he was let go Jan. 21 for violating a policy he’d never seen in writing, and nine other employees responded by walking off the job in solidarity.
Evolve is located at 1200 11th St., Suite 201 in Fairhaven, where it shares space with Village Books.
Several former employees told The Bellingham Herald from the picket line on Jan. 30 that they had been let go from their employment at Evolve as a result of the walkout. The former employees also picketed Jan. 25.
The former employees — chefs, baristas and dishwashers — expressed concerns about what they described as a “hostile” workplace with an ongoing “culture of intimidation” and understaffing issues.
Many of the picketers’ signs echoed those concerns. One sign read, “Evolve treats their workers poorly.” Another read “Abusive practices, stolen wages, don’t support Evolve!”
“I worked there for three years. Pretty much the moment I started, I would hear stories from people who had either worked there before me or were still working there, just being bullied and disrespected in ways that weren’t appropriate,” said former Evolve employee Brandon Bartlett. “Very antithetical to the values they preach, which are community and family and love.”
Employees told The Herald they tried multiple times to share these issues with the cafe owners, Christy and Shannon Fox, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
The Herald contacted Evolve Chocolate + Cafe owners and asked about the employee issues, picketing and claims against their management. They responded with the following statement:
“We are still working to understand what is occurring as we have not had an opportunity to meet with the concerned persons. Once we have an opportunity to do so, we may have additional information to share. We can say that we have no authority to deny unemployment insurance as that is a state-run program, and we are a separate corporate entity from Village Books. We remain eager and willing to address issues raised if provided the opportunity.”
Although Evolve Chocolate + Cafe is located inside of Village Books, the businesses are owned and operated separately.
The employee picketing has directly impacted Village Books’ business, according to a statement from Village Books’ owners, Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert and Sarah Hutton.
“Evolve is the tenant of Village Books and Paper Dreams, leasing the space from us. As their landlord, our dealings with them are confined to structural and customer-facing issues. We are not aware of their operations, policies, or employment practices. We are not in a place to explain, support, or defend their workplace environment. We can say definitively that Village Books and Paper Dreams adheres to all employment and health regulations and strives to create a workplace and culture of fairness and security with open, honest, kind, and respectful communication. This is affecting our business and customers, so we hope this is resolved swiftly and with a positive outcome.”
Evolve Chocolate + Cafe is regularly open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday inside Village Books at 1200 11th St.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
