Dispute forces closure of popular Waterloo ice cream shop

Owner of Marble Slab in Waterloo speaks out The franchise owner of the ice cream shop on University Ave. says she won't go down without a fight. Jeff Pickel has details on the dispute.

On a warm evening right before summer began, disappointment struck Waterloo as a popular ice cream spot, Marble Slab Creamery, unexpectedly closed its doors.

As for the cause, the franchisee is pointing towards a disagreement with the company.

A woman named Andrea Schlegel-Parsons identified herself as the franchise owner and lease holder, and sat outside the store with her staff amidst signs that read "We Support Our Boss" and “We want our jobs back!”

Schlegel-Parsons says she arrived Monday morning to find the locks changed, prompting her to seek a court order affirming her rights to the space. As the situation unfolded, the doors remained closed, leaving customers empty handed and staff out of work.

"My staff are out of jobs, and I would like my staff who are dedicated to the store, and to the brand and to serving our customers -- I'd like them to get their jobs back," said Schlegel-Parsons. “It’s huge. This is my livelihood and this is the livelihood of our staff.”

“The people who had opened the store had broken the locks and changed the locks. They said they were from head office and they were taking over the property immediately,” she said.

Schlegel-Parsons says it was Marble Slab who locked her out and she is taking legal action to get back in

Schlegel-Parsons and her lawyer, Fred Wu, say they’re carefully considering their legal options, with plans to present their case in court soon.

“We have issued them a trespass notice, because they are not the occupants of the property, and we’ve also put together in order to a judge with all her evidence to show that we are the rightful property users,” she said.

She believes locking her out is in response to her starting an association of franchise owners.

“Prior to this, I have received numerous best operator awards. Since I started advocating on behalf of other franchisees, they have responded in an adversarial manner toward me," Schlegel-Parsons said.

Schlegel-Parsons said they were given notice last fall of several infractions that she says are unsubstantiated. In particular, a claim they failed a health and safety inspection

“When someone accuses them of not having a clean store, and they know that to be the farthest thing from the truth, my staff want to stand up and help make sure the truth is heard,” she added.

On Thursday morning, a few security guards could be seen posted outside and the doors are locked. CTV was told the security guards were hired by the corporate office.

MARBLE SLAB CREAMERY RESPONDS

On Thursday, Cam Inglis, the president of Marble Slab Creamery, told CTV News Kitchener via email the corporation plans to reopen the Waterloo location in the coming weeks.

"Unfortunately, circumstances out of our control have led us to the difficult decision to transfer ownership of the store to maintain the high operating standards we hold our locations to. We plan to reopen in the coming weeks and will offer all Waterloo employees the option to retain their positions," Inglis said.

He said the company is eager to reopen its doors for customers.

STUDENT WORKERS IMPACTED

According to the ice cream shop workers, many of them are students who rely on the pay cheque from this job to survive.

“I live with my mom and I am her caregiver and I need money to take care of both of her and myself and I’m saving up for university,” Marble Slab Employee Sara Steinfeld said.

A sign seen held by a woman outside the Marble Slab on Wednesday said that 13 students had lost their job as a result of this closure.