SAN ANTONIO – Just a few days after it happened Recognized in the Michelin GuideThe owner of a Southtown oyster bar addressed allegations of mistreatment of employees and what he called “unpleasant situations.”

Houston Carpenter, owner of Little Em’s Oyster Bar I got some advice On Monday, Michelin was accused of causing harassment on social media and high employee turnover in the first Texas edition of the Michelin Guide.

The allegations emerged after the Instagram user. looozeeasked people to submit comments if they have been “personally victimized/harassed/bullied” by Carpenter.

Looozee publicly shared dozens of comments from people accusing Carpenter of mistreating and taking advantage of employees.

Carpenter addressed the allegations in a post on Instagram.

In the statement, Carpenter apologized for putting himself in “unpleasant situations that gave rise to speculation.”

Read the full statement below:

Recently, following our Michelin certification of Little Em’s, anonymous statements have emerged attacking my integrity and that of our restaurant. I would like to address these directly.

As a small business owner, I’ve worked hard to build an incredible team. During this process, I had to learn a lot about how to be a compassionate and trustworthy leader. Ask anyone who works with me now.

I’m proud of the team we’ve built over the last four years. Together we have built a workplace that is respectful and committed to providing the best experience for our customers.

Of course, building a successful company doesn’t happen overnight. It requires the right team because a restaurant is nothing without its employees. We grew quickly, and in our case this meant turnover, which I know can be difficult to deal with.

To be clear, I have put myself in unpleasant situations that have led to speculation. I apologize and I will learn from this. I sincerely apologize to my family, friends, team, and community for not learning this lesson sooner. I am determined to be the best man I can be and I hope we will all come out stronger from it.

Finally, to the BEST team in San Antonio: I am incredibly proud of the work we do and grateful for your support. We do incredible work together and look forward to serving great food to more people in San Antonio.

Little Em’s Oyster Bar is located in the 1000 block of South Alamo St. The restaurant serves upscale dishes such as steak tartare and chef’s mussels.

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