Is Shareef Malnick Full of Crap?

Well that was a fast weekend, wasn't it?

Mine was uneventful, filled as it always is with windsurfing, Bolero, amateur photography, certain mixed drinks and of course careful study of the Book of Proverbs.

Boy, that King Solomon sure was a shmartie, huh? For example, he said things that even apply to the practice of law, such as:

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Be honest in your dealings with others.

Or this:

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

Your integrity is worth more than money.

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

You are judged by the company (and partners) you keep.

I was thinking about King Solomon's writings as I saw Mark Cheskin discussing how to lay people off in today's paper:

Advance notice certainly is the kinder way to fire, said Mark Cheskin, an employment lawyer with Hogan and Hartson in Miami, but managers need to balance that against other considerations.

For example, will the laid-off workers remain productive knowing their employment comes to an end in a few weeks or months? Could they use the time to steal customers away for a new employer?

''In most instances, making the day of termination the last day of employment in the workplace is a best practice,'' Cheskin said.

These are difficult issues, and I think there are practical reasons why Mark's point is valid.

Still, I found Shareef Malnick's justification for his firing of The Forge staff to be less than convincing:

When Shareef Malnik decided to close his landmark Miami Beach restaurant for renovations, he wanted to be sure service remained top-notch until the very last customer was served.

So he said nothing to most of the employees who worked an overnight party in late April. After the last dish was cleared, Malnik e-mailed the restaurant's 100 employees with the news that The Forge would be closing for six months and they would no longer have jobs.

Most received no severance.

So he (1) didn't tell people to start looking for a job; (2) fired them suddenly by late-night email; and (3) didn't pay severance to most of his staff.

But he did it all for his customers!

Is there something wrong with this story? According to the great columnist Joan Fleischman, Malnick plans to sink $3 to $5 million over the next few months in renovating the restaurant.

Is there anyone else in town spending that kind of money on a restaurant? Who would finance that right now?

Also, at the same time he shut down his restaurant, he is also selling his $10 million mansion.

Is this the right time to sell your house?

I can understand doing one or the other, but both together (and no severance!) suggests there may be more to this story than Malnick is letting on.