BottleRock was considered a success by many; certainly the performers made a lot of money. But for one Point Richmond restaurant owner, as he put it, so far the event's been about empty promises and broken dreams.
For Up & Under Pub and Grill restaurant owner Nathan Trivers, being the primary backstage caterer for last month's huge festival should've been the gig of a lifetime.
"We fed all the rock stars, all their crews, the local crews, anybody that worked to help to put this festival together, we served," Trivers said.
He and his 33 employees served more than 8,500 meals. Their bill to BottleRock was $185,000. But so far, they haven't seen a dime.
"And it's the honorable thing to do to be compensated for your hard work and we worked hard, we worked hard 12 hours a day," employee Kiki Gounaris said.
Napa promoter Bob Vogt told ABC7 News he can't pay Trivers and others because he's still waiting for at least $9 million in revenues from food and beverage sales.
"Millions of dollars that were clearly going to be available to pay people who worked at the festival and vendors never showed up," Vogt said in a statement.
Napa chef and restaurant owner Cindy Pawlcyn was in charge of food and catering for BottleRock. Vogt says Pawlcyn has yet to turn the money over to him.
Pawlcyn and her representatives did not return several calls from ABC7 News.
The City of Napa has received $260,000 for police and fire services. And though not an official partner of the festival, they are concerned.
"You make an assumption when an event comes to town they have the wherewithal to make that event happen and to fulfill their obligations," City of Napa Community Outreach Coordinator Barry Martin said.
Trivers says if he doesn't get his money soon, his Up & Under Pub and Grill could go under.
"It's ironic that you guys show up today, the day I start to do my payroll and realize all the bills have gone out and we're in a bit of a crisis mode here at the Up & Under due to BottleRock," he said.
Their San Francisco union tells us about 150 stagehands also haven't received their checks from BottleRock. That's about $4,000 apiece.
