French Restaurant Under Seige

Having immigrated from France in 1972, Michel Malecot owns a restaurant (The French Gourmet) , bakery and catering company in San Diego.  In the words of Sarah Kershaw of the N.Y. Times, “now it is the knotty issue of immigration that has made him a local cause célèbre, thrust him into one of the nation’s most contentious debates, jeopardized his future and sent a current of fear through the $550-billion-plus restaurant industry.” Last April, Malecot was indicted on charges of illegally hiring 12 undocumented immigrants and continuing to employ them after learning that they were in the country illegally. If convicted, he faces the possibility of forfeiture of the restaurant building, along with an adjacent rental property, Froggy’s Bar and Grill.

KJ