"I didn't want to close": Metro Vancouver cafe owner alleges landlord harassed her
A cafe owner has filed a BC human rights complaint against her alleged former landlord because of sexual harassment claims. She said his comments resulted in the closing of her business.
Jerrica Hackett is the owner of Good Wolf Cafe & Co., which abruptly closed its Port Coquitlam storefront last fall. In a video shared on TikTok, Hackett provided insight to social media users into why she made the sudden decision.
“I didn’t really see a way out,” she said in the video.
According to Hackett, while attempting to negotiate her lease terms last October, her alleged property owner made an “inappropriate proposition.”
@thegoodwolfgirl If you or someone you know has been through something similar please contact me #fyp #womeninbusiness #harassment #cafe #portcoquitlam #discrimination #empowerment ♬ Overcome – Skott
Hackett provided a redacted version of her complaint to Daily Hive. She refused to name the alleged landlord. The respondent’s name was also redacted in the complaint provided to media.
According to the complaint, it claims the respondent said he would help her if she helped him.
“He offered to take care of half her rent if she would go for dinner and dancing with him twice a month, and afterward go back to his office with him for drinks, take her clothes off, and show him her body. He said nice legs made him happy and it would make him happy to see her body, touch her legs, and touch her bum. He said it would be a good deal for her because she could save money on rent,” the complaint reads.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Hackett told Daily Hive the comments left her “shocked and deeply saddened and like I was in no other position than to leave.”
“I just tried to end the conversation and be prepared for the next one,” she continued.
After the interaction, Hackett said she avoided the man over the weekend because she was in shock and didn’t want to talk to him again.
“And then, once I kind of had some breathing room, I came back, and I was prepared to record the conversation just because I didn’t know where it was gonna go,” she told Daily Hive.
When the alleged property owner returned the following week, according to the complaint, the respondent asked if Hackett had thought about his “proposition.”
Hackett said she recorded this interaction and attached the video recording in a TikTok. The audio was altered to conceal the man’s voice and identity, she said.
In the video, someone is heard saying, “For one hour together, we drink, we talk, and every time I give you $200.”
Hackett said she did not report the incident to the police but imminently sought legal advice and notified the property management she would not renew the lease and planned for the café’s closure.
“To be propositioned like that by somebody in a position of control and power over… I didn’t really see any other way to proceed,” she said.
There is no criminal investigation underway, she says.
“I’m hoping to be open… and to make new memories”
Hackett admitted in her TikTok video that she did not want to close and is now stuck with more bills and challenges in opening a new business and “to fight for what is right in this situation.”
“I’m not going to take this lying down. This is unacceptable,” she added.
However, “Now I have to do it all over again, starting from behind square one,” she said.
On October 25, Good Wolf Cafe & Co. notified its customers that the Port Coquitlam location would close on October 28.
Good Wolf Cafe & Co. has since been able to secure a new location in Maple Ridge.
“Now it’s really just about the challenges of navigating, funding and building out the space physically, and getting all the required permits and inspections and approvals in order to open in a new space,” she said.
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An opening date for this location has not been confirmed yet.
“I’m hoping to be open in a few months in a newer, bigger space and to make new memories,” Hackett added.
Hackett’s TikTok video has been viewed over 944,000 times as of Wednesday afternoon, along with an outpour of support from social media users eager to help the cafe.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Hackett to support building the new Maple Ridge cafe.
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Daily Hive has reached out to the holding company that owns the building as well as a property management company associated with the address. No reply was received before deadline.
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