Oct 10, 2008 3:23 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: The Disappearing Caterer
"My parents have been married for the past 50 years", says Noelle Mattock.
She started saving up and planning last year, to throw them a big 50th Anniversary Surprise Party. She wanted something very special, and decided to hire a caterer. "I finally settled on The Moveable Feast because I'd heard lots of good things about them, and it was a name that I recognized."
Noelle hired owner Jacob Schildgen in July for a party to be held at the end of September. He asked for a $1,000.00 deposit. But when Noelle was ready to pay him, he raised it to $1,500.00. "So I had an uneasy feeling, but he had been so responsive on all of the phone calls that I'd had with him, I went ahead. I'd already saved my money, the money was already there." So she paid him. But when he didn't show up to a meeting, Noelle became worried. She says she called him numerous times, leaving message after message. "He finally returned my phone call when I left a message saying I'm very, very concerned; please call me as soon as possible."
Schildgen apologized, and assured Noelle everything was going to happen as planned. But weeks before the event, she found his phone numbers disconnected. "I was devastated, I was panicked. At the end of the month I'm having a hundred people come to a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party and I have nothing."
We found The Moveable Feast's Folsom store empty, and every single number we could find for his business and home disconnected. We then learned the State of California suspended The Moveable Feasts corporation status. We also discovered judgments for back taxes and unpaid suppliers totaling tens-of-thousands-of-dollars.
Noelle's friend and owner of Bagatelle Catering came to the rescue and everyone enjoyed the party. But Noelle is still out her $1,500.00, and says she's, "Very sad, and disappointed. I put a lot more faith in human nature and that hurts." At this point her only recourse is to sue Mr. Schildgen and The Moveable Feast in Small Claims Court.
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