Amid a widespread business boycott of its products, Citizen Cider responded this week to allegations that it had created a toxic workplace and said it would hire a third-party organization to evaluate its business practices.
Justin Heilenbach, president and co-founder of the Burlington-based company, said in a statement posted to social media Wednesday that lapses in communication had led to “powerful misunderstandings.”
“We have made systematic changes to prevent this from happening in the future,” Heilenbach wrote. “However, at no time in our history has Citizen Cider ever intentionally created a hostile environment or endorsed homophobic or misogynistic practices.”
The Burlington-based cidery and restaurant was the subject of a Seven Days story last month alleging discomfort within the staff over the rollout and marketing of a new line of beer called Hey Bub.
Citing mostly unnamed current and former Citizen employees, Seven Days reported that those close to the company had criticized the Hey Bub campaign as misogynistic and homophobic. Others aired similar views and experiences in a Reddit thread, mostly anonymously.
Soon after Seven Days published the story, local social media personality Jonny Wanzer released a video about the cider maker, calling it a “toxic misogynistic boys’ club” whose practices prompted more than 15 employees to leave their jobs in August. Wanzer said he interviewed 35 current and former employees.
VTDigger has not corroborated all of the allegations in the Seven Days and Wanzer pieces.
Wanzer’s focus on the issue did not stop with the first video. In the days following, he compiled a list of businesses he said had either stopped selling Citizen Cider products or stopped ordering them. Wanzer also called out companies that kept the products on their shelves.
VTDigger reached out to several of the over 150 businesses on Wanzer’s list, which included grocery stores, restaurants, bars, liquor stores and more across the state.
Representatives of Burlington-based businesses such as The Archives, Nectar’s, Manhattan Pizza and Pub and 802 Beverage Center in the New North End all confirmed they had either stopped ordering Citizen Cider or stopped selling the products altogether. But no manager or owner of those businesses was willing to speak about the issue on the record. Many other businesses did not respond to requests for comment.
Heilenbach, the Citizen Cider president, criticized the anonymous claims about the company, alleging that they had put the business, its partners and the public in a “uniquely challenging position to discover and discern what is true.”
He wrote that Citizen Cider planned to bring in a third-party organization to “evaluate personnel policies, internal practices, interview employees and share their findings.”
“We recognize the importance of these issues and will move forward, learning from this process,” the statement read.
Heilenbach did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email Thursday and Friday.
Wanzer, meanwhile, kept the pressure on with another video on the subject, saying Heilenbach’s statement “falls short.”
“A vague admission of communication lapses doesn’t sufficiently address the gravity of the accusations and attempts to keep the narrative of the situation in their control by not revealing it to people who aren’t aware of the accusations,” Wanzer said.
