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Hipsters Need NOT Apply To Vinnie's Pizza In Williamsburg
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 27, 2011
Modified Apr 27, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 27, 2011
Modified Apr 27, 2011
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Reader Sanford Santacroce (great name!) sent us this photo of a very specific "Help Wanted" sign spotted at Vinnie's Pizza in Williamsburg (home of the Tom Hanks garbage bin). Sanford wants to know, "Isn't this sort of thing an illegal/discriminatory/hilarious message that will perpetuate bad stereotypes between the old locals and the new locals? Their 'Slice Is Right' motto (on their website) uses the same font as the 'Price Is Right' TV game show so I guess some hipster irony is okay, just not enough to get you a job there ;)." While waiting for a state Labor Department spokesperson to respond to our inquiries about hipster discrimination, we got on the phone with Henrik Toncic, a co-owner at Vinnie's. And boy howdy did he share some hipster employee horror stories by way of explanation! Here's one that would put anybody off hipsters for life:
We hired a guy who is in a local band that's gotten pretty big [Ed.: REDACTED because the band is now well-known and we want to give this person a chance to respond]. This was about a year or so ago, when they were still up-and-coming, and one scenario that has remained true in Williamsburg is you've got these people coming from smaller towns and they immediately fall into the party lifestyle. Well, this guy got arrested while he was working here, during his shift. The cops took him out of Vinnie's in handcuffs! He was arrested for domestic assault, but I don't know what came of that.
Then he needed time off to go to rehab. Then he needed time off for the band. We had loaned him money and he had even stayed at one of the owner's houses. Listen, the owners and managers at Vinnie's are also artists and musicians, we have lived that lifestyle, so we get it and we try to be flexible. But this guy would take naps in the basement on a pizza box and a bag of macaroni. Then he'd be doing cocaine while it's still light out. Finally we caught him stealing money out of the register, about $800 over several weeks. He did pledge to pay us back. But you know, he was also a great guy; when he was here and committed he was great.
Yeah, with "great" employees like this, who needs enemies? Toncic tells us they recently took down the "Help Wanted" sign because they actually found some employees who met their exacting requirements! (We assume they'll be commuting from Pennsylvania.)
Tagged
discrimination
employment
hipsters
job hunt
Vinnie's Pizza
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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