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Why hasn’t SpaceX paid this Bay Area chef the $70,000 it owes him?
San Francisco Chronicle • • business
Key Points:
- SpaceX, recently valued at $2 trillion, owes Bay Area restaurant owner Darryl Bell approximately $70,000 for two catered dinners at its Palo Alto campus, with payments months overdue.
- Bell’s Napa barbecue restaurant, Stateline Road Smokehouse, catered dinners for 425 SpaceX employees in July and August, but despite positive feedback, payment delays have forced SpaceX to postpone future events.
- Bell did not receive a deposit from SpaceX, which deviates from his usual 50% deposit policy for large events, and has incurred costs purchasing $7,000 in equipment and staffing long shifts for the dinners.
- Despite multiple assurances from SpaceX accountants that payment was initiated, Bell has yet to receive the funds and is struggling financially to pay his staff and suppliers.
- Bell expressed frustration that a company with a $2 trillion valuation has not fulfilled its payment obligations, impacting his small business amid rising food costs and tight margins.
