The employees' lawyer told GrubStreet there's something else going on:

Sommers points out that while crying poverty, Café Gratitude has brought on one of the biggest and priciest labor-defense firms in the country, Littler Mendelssohn, and if this were any normal labor dispute that firm would not likely be advising them to close their whole operation over a mere $200,000.

This isn't the first time Cafe Gratitude has been in the media on a less than sweet note. Over two years ago the East Bay Express ran a piece charging the owners encouraged employees - and required management - to attend a $500, controversial training program called Landmark Forum.

It's an oddly polarizing ending for what seems to have been a polarizing place all along. According to the owners, the legions of fans of the food have about three to six months left before any locations close.

[Editor's Note: This post was re-edited to more accurately describe an Aug. 5, 2009, East Bay Express feature story on Café Gratitude.]

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'I Am Closing:' Cafe Gratitude Owners Will Shut Down Rather Than Fight Lawsuits