A shuttered Vineyard Haven restaurant is starting to fade from the memory of Island diners, but likely remains lodged in the mind of its former sous chef. 

Golden Bull MV, a Brazilian steakhouse at Five Corners, abruptly closed in 2023. While a new bar is looking to take its place, Jesse Silva, a cook at the Golden Bull, is still looking for an outstanding six-figure payment from the former restaurant.

Last year, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Golden Bull and its president owe Mr. Silva more than $200,000. In the more than seven months since the ruling, Mr. Silva has not received any money and the court hasn’t been able to get in touch with his former employer. 

“The judgment remains outstanding,” said Mr. Silva’s attorney, Michael Bace. “At the moment, we are not aware of any assets or sources of income within Massachusetts that could be used to satisfy our judgment....If and when the defendants ever return to Massachusetts (or the United States), we’ll be there to pursue our client’s rights.”

Mr. Silva, a Medford resident who worked at the steakhouse for about three years, sued Golden Bull and the company’s president Cristofer Ruiz Leyva in 2023. He claimed he worked seven days a week, often clocking more than 90 hours a week, without a dime for overtime.

He also had checks that were returned for insufficient funds, prompting a wage complaint with the state’s attorney general’s office. 

Mr. Leyva and Golden Bull denied the charges and later alleged that Mr. Silva “absconded with property belonging to the business.” 

The case took a winding path before coming to a sharp end. A settlement appeared in the making in August 2023, and the lawsuit was poised to be dismissed, but the agreement between the parties fell apart and the case resumed. 

Golden Bull’s lawyer also had a breakdown in his relationship with his clients, and left the case in December. Around this time, Mr. Silva’s attorney asked the court to impose sanctions on Golden Bull and its president for not responding to requests for evidence in the case. 

When the case was called in February 2024, Mr. Base appeared alone; no one was in attendance for Golden Bull or Mr. Leyva, prompting sanctions from the court.

Attempts to notify the restaurant and Mr. Leyva were unsuccessful, and by July the court sided with Mr. Silva due to the business’s failure to show up in the court. 

On July 10, Judge Patti Saris ruled that the business and Mr. Leyva owed Mr. Silva $204,456.40. The notices of the judgements to Golden Bull and Mr. Leyva were unable to be delivered to the provided Beach Road address. The court’s attempts to get in touch with their former attorney also proved fruitless, meaning Mr. Silva had a ruling in his favor, but no money to show for it. 

Golden Bull’s initial attorney in the case, Robert Bonsignore, did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Shortly after the Gazette reached out to Mr. Bonsignore, a man who said he was Mr. Leyva’s manager reached out to the newspaper about the inquiry. 

Arturo Jorge, who said he was Mr. Leyva’s manager, said the restaurant was closed and didn’t seem to know about the ruling against his client. In a follow up interview, Mr. Jorge, who is based in Mexico, said he hadn’t heard from Mr. Leyva, who was conferring with his lawyers about the ruling.