MADISON, Wis. — The business partner of a Madison restaurant owner accused of stalking and domestic abuse says his restaurants will make donations to help victims of domestic abuse while his former partner fully divests himself from the company.
In a Facebook post Friday afternoon, Joshua Berkson, who co-owned Merchant and Lucille with Patrick Sweeney, says Sweeney has been removed from the ownership group and has agreed to divest his ownership interests — both financially and legally.
Sweeney was charged last week with a felony count of stalking and two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct after being accused of threatening a woman and monitoring her movements using a GPS device on her car. According to court documents, when an officer told Sweeney about the charges, he reportedly said he “thought it would be worse.”
The process of Sweeney divesting his interests will take time, but Berkson says in the meantime, Merchant and Lucille will donate a portion of its sales to domestic abuse causes.
Starting Friday night, they will donate $1 for every order of Merchant cheese curds or Lucille “The Queen” pizzas to Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS). They are also adding DAIS as a donation partner at checkout for Merchant, Lucille and Cook It Forward.
Lucille and Merchant made social media posts Saturday night saying Sweeney was stepping down from his ownership role, but some still had questions about whether he would continue to make money through the restaurants.
In addition to removing Sweeney’s financial interests in the business, Berkson says he feels a responsibility to help those who have experienced domestic abuse.
“I need to work against such actions as a business owner and community leader, but also in my role supporting people close to me who have been victims, and to keep my daughter safe — a transgender, autistic teen who is statistically many times more likely to be abused compared to her peers,” Berkson wrote.
Berkson says the remaining ownership group is also bringing in a mental health service that will provide free therapy for everyone in the company moving forward.
“Our path forward will take all of us,” Berkson said. “We will grow out of this experience reaffirming our commitment to why we do what we do and who we do it with. We will hire and promote leaders who stand for our values of inclusion, love and humility. We will work as a team to all carry these tenets forward.”
Sweeney was released on a signature bond last week. His preliminary hearing in Dane County court is scheduled for May 28th.
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