Okay…I could not help myself in selecting the title to this article. We have previously discussed the fact that non-compete clauses are found everywhere from retail sales to professional coaching and food service. Now we hear the story of a famous chef who was practicing his trade in Colorado but may not be in the immediate future.
Renowned Chimney Park Bistro chef Florian Wehrli is out of a job following a shake-up with other co-owners who fired him July 3. Swiss-born “Chef Florian,” as he is known to Chimney Park diners, had been negotiating the purchase of Chimney Park from its ownership group. When Wehrli declined the owners group’s sale offer, they terminated him in a letter July 3.
The termination letter spells out some details of a non-compete agreement that Wehrli signed with other owners in December 2003 when Chimney Park was formed. The agreement prohibits Wehrli’s employment in the restaurant business in Colorado for a two-year period following his departure from Chimney Park.
I don’t know about Colorado law but hope Virginia courts would not enforce a non-compete provision which would prevent the chef from working anywhere in the state for a period of two years!