"The Hillstone Files: A 30-Year Pattern of Discrimination, Deception, and Disregard"

"The Hillstone Files: A 30-Year Pattern of Discrimination, Deception, and Disregard"

When I walked into Hillstone's Bal Harbour location with a reservation and a medical emergency, I never imagined I would uncover a restaurant empire built on broken promises and federal violations.

What started as a simple request—"Can I get a piece of bread? I'm diabetic and my blood sugar is crashing"—turned into a corporate nightmare featuring:

⚖️ An active EEOC federal lawsuit for age discrimination 💰 A California class-action price gouging case 🕵️ A landmark privacy violation that changed laws in 13 states 👤 Corporate lies and fabricated accusations ⭐ A Net Promoter Score of -11 (customer satisfaction in the gutter) 📉 A BBB rating of C+ for refusing to respond to complaints 🏥 Multiple ADA violations across locations

This isn't one bad night. This is a documented pattern spanning federal courtrooms, employee testimonies, and hundreds of verified reviews.

40 locations. Millions in revenue. Zero accountability.

Until now.

Full story: [link to your podcast/blog]

@balharbour @hillstonerestaurants @balharbourshops #hillstonerestaurants #ada #discrimination #adaviolation #diabetes #type1diabetes #customerservice #consumerrights #eeoc #agediscrimination #balharbour #miami #southfloridaeats #restaurantfail #boycott #disability #disabilityrights #knowyourrights #restaurantindustry #corporateaccountability

#podcast #therantnetwork #podcasting #opinion #podcaster #podcastshow #live #business #discussion #economics #politics #discussion #sports #racism #socialmedia #education #conservative #education #antiwoke #GoWokeGoBroke #DonaldTrump #PoliticalAnalysis

Transcript

Opening And Six-Year Milestone

SPEAKER_00 0:02

What's up, everybody? I'm starting today without any fanfare, any noise, any music. Because I'm going to make a lot of noise myself. You're probably wondering why. The Rant Network's been running now for oh, just I think really about six years. We've been producing 15-minute clips three times a week ever since. While David is currently not able to make today's broadcast, we have been doing this together as a video blog, right? Where David and I discuss and talk about many issues from politics, customer service to just daily rants about modern life. So I'd like everyone to say hello to our sixth year. My name is Stuart Brisgown, and today I'm diving into the monologue on a deep, deep issue about a company that built its reputation on upscale dining, but has left a trail of lawsuits and disappointments around the country and broken trust in its wake. I'm talking about Hillstone Restaurant Group. You might know them as, and if you live in South Florida, The Grill at Bell Harbor, or Houston's on uh Biscayne, or Hillstone Restaurant. They're all over the country. You know, now I want to be clear from the start. Everything I'm about to document, these are public records, court filings, federal lawsuits, real customer experiences. I'm not making anything up. I'm simply connecting the dots that Hilstow would prefer you never see. Because people that work for the company, like Jennifer, who will literally go and manufacture stories to try and exclude you from being able to even go back in their restaurant. So grab a cup of coffee, grab a burger, just don't make it from Hillstone. All right, let's start with the experience that happened at Hillstone and Bell Harbor that set this whole rant up because it sets the stage for everything else I'm gonna discuss. My wife made a reservation earlier in the day for not just myself, but my in-laws. You know, I'm a diabetic. I wear an insulin pump, have a little microchip on my arm. And sometimes life happens. It isn't predictable, it isn't something you're able to plan for, but rarely, but it still happens, I go really hyper low. And when that does happen, it's a very serious, serious situation. We showed up 40 minutes earlier for reservation just because I started to feel a little off. Now, in this particular evening, again, like I said, my glucose was running substantially lower than normal. Not dangerously low that I needed medical attention, but low enough that eating needed to be on my horizon. So we approached the host, stood pilot, sit, yeah, stood silently, politely, and my wife explained why we're here early and asked that if we could be seated earlier. And if so, when? And if not, could you please take this into consideration? As my quote, my husband, me, has a medical condition that needs to be managed. Simple request. We're not asking to jump the line, we're not demanding immediate seating. We just want to be seated at a reserved time so I can avoid a medical emergency, like passing out on the floor of your restaurant, maybe, or collapsing in Balhalber's mall. You know, these are things that as I got older, I needed to consider. Now, unfortunately, being a diabetic, being in the middle of it, we don't really recognize it. It's kind of like calling the kettle black. It doesn't work. You would think that that would be straightforward enough with the hostesses that work at this restaurant, which, by the way, is an upscale restaurant and one of the most expensive malls in the country. We weren't being pompous, we weren't being rude, we were being, matter-of-fact, nice and sweet. We were essentially ignored. And we then returned back to the restaurant eight to five to eight minutes before the actual reservation. When we went back, and my wife reiterated, still politely, that we needed to be seated on time. And this was getting to be a little bit more serious. And this is where it gets interesting. I, at about stat, I'd say about 6'10, 10 minutes after our alleged restaurant time, approached a man wearing a white jacket with a little thermometer. I believe this was the restaurant manager from the kitchen, where he even refused to find a server. So, what do I mean, find a server? I went up to this gentleman and said, Hi, we have a reservation. It seems to be running late. Could you please ask someone to get me a single piece of bread prior to us sitting down at the table? And this manager said, You can go and find, uh, you can go and find a server and order a facaccia bread. Okay. Listen, sir, I responded. I'm sort of having a sugar issue. We have a reservation. I understand it's taking time. My blood sugar seems to be not stable. Could you please assist me on getting me just a single piece of bread? I don't need an entire facaccia bread. And going to find a waiter in your restaurant doesn't seem appropriate. Well, he insisted. And so then I clearly, in my steward kind of way, responded, are you out of your fucking mind? You know, yeah, that seems normal response when someone's that ignorant, that stupid, someone that refuses to acknowledge what's actually in the ADA. When you ask for a reasonable accommodation, the restaurant that serves the public actually has to comply. And failing to do so, well, let's see if Hillstone finds out, because this is just getting started. So instead of them giving basic human compassion from this upscale hospitality restaurant, which by the way advertises, you know, we've got, you know, dismissive, we got sent out. And yeah, let me tell you something. I can have a big mouth. But here is what really gets nuts. I then decided to call Hillstone's corporate office in Arizona, where I met this illustrious Jennifer, who, by the way, seems to be a medical doctor because she knows how diabetics are, how they should be treated. But, anyways, we'll get there later. And you would think that the restaurant chain in Arizona would want to know about how something didn't go right in one of their restaurants. You know, serving is what this restaurant chain is supposed to be about. And being it that it's a hospitality restaurant that claims to be premium, it should understand that the legitimacy of what a medical need is from a high-end customer. And yes, I'm putting myself in that category as a high-end customer. Now, you might be thinking, I'm just, you know, bad. And it was just a bad night for this restaurant. Maybe I caught him at a bad time. Maybe it's an isolated incident, maybe it's a stewardism because I'm an arrogant guy and I'm pushy, and I'll tell you what I think, and I don't really care. But one of I told you this was far from an isolated incident, but it's more like the culture from this restaurant chain. Let me walk through, like, because I now am starting to dig because you know, I just can't stop. I sit in front of 250 inches of monitors, and you know, when I get a moment or get to my office at 5 a.m., I just can't resist to stand up for everyone that doesn't have the power or voice to do so. Let me tell you, May 2022, there is actually a federal age discrimination lawsuit against this company that the EEOC, you know, uh that filed it against Hillstone Restaurant Group. The charge is age discrimination at two of their New York City locations. Where's Mindami when you need them? Crazy bum. According to the EEOC lawsuit, despite having highly qualified pool applicants age 40, Hillstone refused to hire them for the front-of-the-house server, hostess, greeter, or bartender. Yeah. I guess they want um younger, funner, maybe dumber. The lawsuit alleges that Hillstone's senior managers rejected qualified applicants because they were deemed too old. And this is a direct quote: not the demographic Hillstones wanted to hire. Let's sync for a second. Not the demographic. This isn't me making this stuff up. This is the federal government. You violated the AIDS Discrimination Employment Act. And here's what makes even more damning. The EEOC only files lawsuits after they've attempted to settle this conciliation process. Meaning Hillstone had a chance to make it right before they went to court. So it's kind of like, you know, let me be stupid and fight. Kind of sounds similar to like Jennifer. You know, you know, and again, culture stops from this top and goes down. The regional attorney for the EEOC, the New York District, said plainly, unfortunately, the restaurant industry continues to be one where many employers openly discriminate with age-based public-facing rules. Openly discriminate, guys. Listen to that word, discriminate. And as of 2023, this case was still proceeding through discovery. The courts even bifurcated another case, first determining the liability and whether Hillstone engaged in a pattern practice of age discrimination and dealing with damages. A pattern of practice, not one time, but a pattern. Now, let's just sort of go back even further. You know, David and I ranted about COVID over and over and over again and price gouging. But they in November, if in California, Hillstones violated the California price gouging, right? There's a lawsuit. There's an emergency. Are you stupid or something? According to the lawsuit, Hillstone increased its prices on food and added a 10% to 15% service or takeout orders, despite providing no change in the quality, quantity, or packaging compared to its pre-pandemic offering. You know, I wonder if Gavin Newsom was responsible for this. Here's where it gets shady. The lawsuit alleges that it was unclear what the fee was even for, because the receipts would sometimes call it a service fee and sometimes call it a packing fee. One example of the complaint ordered$90 worth of sushi and barbecue ribs and was hit with a$13.5 charge. No clear justification. Again, not a single isolated incident, but what's now turning into a problematic case? Now, there's another one. How creepy can a company be? Now, this one is really troubling because it shows how Hillstone treats its employees, which why may which why may explain how nasty this guy that I was met with uh is and is stayed employed there because he's just a nasty prick. In 2006, two Houston restaurants, well, under the brand Hillstone brand, right? Created private passwords in MySpace, and they called the group the Spectator. It was a place where employees could vent about work frustration, like we all do. Water cooler bullshit, like the rant network. The group was invited only. No managers were invited. It was access only during non-working, non-compensated hours on personal computers. But Hillstone managers found out about it. And instead of leaving it alone, because let's be honest, employees venting about work is as old as work itself. Managers presumed other employees got in and faked credentials. That employee, Karen St. John, later testified that she felt that she was being pressured and that pretty much thought after giving him the password that the managers were going to see it anyways. And she was going to get fired. The managers accessed the site without proper authorization, read through everything, and fired employees. Those employees sued in 2009 after a three-year contentious lawsuit. Jennifer, were you there? A jury found Hillstone violating both Federal Stored Communications Act and New Jersey's Wiretapping Surveillance Control Act. I mean, like, come on. The jury didn't find liability. They found Hillstone managers maliciously active. And they were awarded punitive damages. This case received national attention. It was covered by ABC News, CNN, Fox, you know, Wall Street Journal, and it became a landmark case that led to 13 states, including New Jersey, passing a password protection law. Think about it. Hillstone's behavior was so egregious, it literally changed laws in this country. You know, let's go to the BBB, you know, Better Business Bureau. You know, they're bullies more than I am. Do you know that the restaurant chain has a C rating? They failed to respond to complaints. Go figure. Jennifer, when you can't even handle a simple customer plate complaint through a third-party mediator. You know, let's go. Glassdoor. Glassdoor is an employee website. Let's talk about Hillsone. Its own employees are saying they rate the company 3.2 stars. Whoa. There are over 1,100 reviews from employees. That's pretty funny. Manager does a poor job. Thank and appreciation staff for 100 long hours, very late nights, low inventory counting. No work-life balance. They don't care. Show or don't work. The culture can be, quote, toxic, very abusive. The job itself, you know, serving isn't bad. What came to complete shock was the verbal, aggressive, threatening behavior. You know, again, a company like Hillstone typically has cancer from the top up. And Jennifer, being the gatekeeper to the executives, seems to portray that image really well. Let's talk about Miss from Houston, Sona Potter Saga. Let me tell you about a manager named Chauna Porter at Houston's location. Because this is perfectly encapitates everything wrong with Hillstone's approach to customers. Multiple trip advisor reviews Porter by name, and it's not in a good way. Porter, I don't know, man. One reviewer, a 32-year-old customer, described being seated, given menus and silverware, and told to leave with no explanation. When they asked for the manager, Porter was rude, condescending, and treated the customer like trash. The kicker, when they tried to complain to corporate, they discovered that Hillstone's website said they no longer accept complaints. Let's read that again. They no longer accept complaints. Another reviewer called Porter, bizarrely inept after the group's reservations was refused, seating in three-quarter empty restaurants. Multiple reviews mention her specifically as being racist and rude. This is like going on and on and on with multiple reviews of being racist and rude. Look, here things get really weird. Hillstone Corporate knows about her. They've received these complaints. And, you know, she was still employed as a general manager. This tells you the type of company, Hillstone, Hillstone's corporate, and Hillstone's priorities. Now, I'm gonna now flip over into dressing hypocrisy. Because I actually was subject to this by accident one day. There are multiple reviews with this. Arbitrary selective dress enforcement. A customer, before I tell you my story, a customer in Phoenix wrote they showed up in December in a diamondback jersey for a 445 reservation where they were turned away for a no Jersey policy, even though the restaurant was filled with people wearing t-shirts and track seats. I guess they just didn't like the New Jersey diamondbacks. Another person in Houston reviewed a 30-year customer was denied service because they claimed she was wearing a jersey, even though that it was clearly an athletic shirt. Well within the dress code, it just wasn't necessarily as formal as they thought their restaurant deserved. It's a pattern, it's maintaining a standard. I showed up wearing, I don't know, a thousand dollar keton hat. And I sat at the bar with my wife while there was a woman wearing a hat and another gentleman wearing a fedora. Yet I was asked to take off my hat. Very selective. I'm gonna do you the do-it-your favor attitude. Here are quotes from Sight Jabber make you feel like they're doing you a favor. We'll see you within our time frame. Another reviewer, right? This place lost respect. You know, I gotta tell you, if you're there to go and pay for premium burger, which is substandard, premium omelet, which is really just not tasteful, or drinks that are overpriced, you know, you gotta start wondering what is the net promoting score of these truths. According to comparabilities, Hillstone rates as a minus 11. That means 51% of its customers are detached detractors who would actively discourage anyone else from going there. 40% are promoters. That's okay. I gotta tell you, when my wife says I want to go to Hillstone, I'll go, why? It's awful. The long-term customers, people that have been going there for 10 years, the score drops even lower to minus 21. That means the restaurant is failing, but people still go there. Now, let's circle back to this accommodation failure, back to my story, where my experience with a medical accommodation was refused. But let's get to real facts under the American. With Disability Act. Businesses are required to make reasonable accommodations with disabilities. And diabetes is a recognized disability under the ADA. Asking to be seated at your reserve time so you can manage your blood sugar is as reasonable as an accommodation can get. That wasn't complicated. That wasn't expensive, and it wasn't disruptive. And the manager wearing the white, fake I'm a chef kind of jacket caused this disruption. And their corporate office, hey Jennifer, told you I was going to come back for more, doubled down with an inaccurate claim, trying to flip a script, making accusations so baseless and false. Frankly, they are disgusting. And I hope, Jennifer, because you say and claim you have loved ones with diabetes and you're an expert without, as far as I'm aware, medical training, medical uh education, or medical credentials should suffer a fate 10 times worse than me at your hand. That's pretty awesome that I could say something so disgusting, but that's what should happen to you because you're a bad person. You're a person that really is a horrible, horrible person. It's not just bad customer surface, it's actually a liability that potentially violates federal law, and you double down. Listen, let me rapid fire a few more documented incidents just to piss you off more. Phoenix, hometown there, Jennifer. Customer with a dairy allergy asked about ingredients and was told they couldn't disclose. What's a dish potential hazard without disclosing? Multiple customers reported being rushed out before finishing their meal, despite having reservations. A Houston customer reported being discriminated against and arrest despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, I guess with some pro play over years. Customers report managers are hesitant to resolve conflicts, leaving bartenders and servers to handle problems. They have a great bartender at the one in Bell Harbor. And again, he's a great guy. You know, wish him well, has known us for years. Another reviewer noted management threatened to have customers cartowed because they acted like billies. There's an accountability gap at this chain. Here's what really burns me, though. There's no real accountability. When the EEOC files discrimination lawsuit, Hillstone Court fights. When customers complain, they're dismissed or ignored. When employees talk sick glassdoor, nothing changes. When the landmark privacy policy case exchanges national news, nothing happens. There's no moment where Hillstone says, you know what? We messed up. We need to do better. Here's how we're going to change. Instead, it's business as usual, premium prices, mediocre treatment, mediocre food, and a corporate culture that is really lacking in integrity. Now, here's something that you may think about me. Why am I making such a big deal about this restaurant? It's not about the restaurant. It's about how businesses treat people. It's about whether companies uphold their legal obligation, whether it's age discrimination in the Age Discrimination Employment Act, whether it's American with Disability Act, Store Communications Act, or price gouging laws. It's about whether premium hospitality they advertise is really just marketing fluff. When restaurants can't make and can't handle simple medical accommodation requests, that's a problem. When the federal agencies are filing discrimination lawsuits, that's a problem. When employees consistently reproxic abusive work environment, that's a problem. When corporate response that is dismissive, factually inaccurate, and sometimes non-existent, that's a massive problem, Jennifer. And this isn't about one bad experience. It's a documented pattern behavior spanning years. Countless victims. You know what's really troubling? Hillstones position itself as a premium band brand. They charge premium prices. They want to be upscale. But what are you paying for? Better service?

unknown 26:58

Nope.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Better appearance? Nope. Nice decor?

unknown 27:01

Nope.

Final Charge And Continuing The Fight

SPEAKER_00 27:02

Better food? Nope. Privileges of being treated nice like an inconvenience? Nope. Because when it comes down to it, treating people is what restaurants should be about. That's the premium experience. But that's not the most insulting part. Corporate knows about the complaints. They know about the lawsuits, they know about Shauna Porter. They know about Jennifer. They know about the manager over in Ball Harbor. They just don't give a shit. So what can we do about it? Well, first, it should vote with your wallet. If it bothers you, you shouldn't do it. Don't give it to them. There's plenty of other good restaurants that will treat you with respect. Two, share your experience. Share it. If you have an issue, document it. TripAdvisor, Yelp, BBB, like me, have a video blog that's been going on for six years. Notify local government. Local notify federal government. They can be held accountable if you're vigilant. Don't let the premium branding fool you because that's not premium. That's substandard. Complain. Companies. There are many companies that are restaurant groups out there that treat their employees honorably, legally, and deliver hospitality as they promised. Find them, reward them with your business. You have rights. Disabilities people are required to provide these accommodations. They're legally required. If you're over 40 and applying for a job, you're protected from age discrimination. Let me give you some final thoughts. I'm not saying Hillstone is the worst company in the world. I'm not saying every employee is the worst. I'm not saying every meal is bad. What I'm saying is Hillstone Restaurant Group has serious, documented, repeated issues, treating people and customers and employees both horribly. And until they're going to address it, until they're going to apologize for it, until they're going to accept liability and responsibility, I'm going to keep coming back online and push until they do better, stop discriminating, value their employees, handle ADA medical accommodations seriously, possibly even take corrective action with the restaurant management where I had experiences and Jennifer for giving false and misleading information. Get the truth. You are in public. Have them record. Preserve all video evidence. Hold the management accountable. Call them out by name. Ask for their name. Publish their name. This has been a pleasure to give this rant today for nearly a half hour. I can keep going. I'm going to cut it to little pieces. I'm going to send it to the corporate office and I'm going to continue to rebroadcast it till I actually get, I'm sorry, I'll do better from the owner management from Hillstone. So if you think this is going to stop, guys, it's not. It's just getting started. My name's Stuart Brisgale. This has been a beautiful podcast brought to you on February 11th, 2026. These are my opinions. This is my story. And these are the stories of just a few people that I was able to find in writing this podcast. So as a journal, I hope you listen loud and clear. Hillstone Restaurant Group, based out of Arizona, shame on you.