City Winery Closure Continues After Fatal Employee Stabbing Incident

City Winery in Chicago’s West Loop is currently closed following a fatal stabbing incident between employees on Wednesday evening, marking another event in a series of workplace violence incidents in the Chicago area. A 47-year-old employee was fatally stabbed multiple times by a 41-year-old coworker and was later pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. The victim has been identified as Francois H. Reed-Swain. City Winery’s founder, Michael Dorf, expressed the incident as tragic and mentioned ongoing investigations with police, highlighting the need to support their traumatized staff with counseling services.
This incident is part of a worrying trend of workplace violence in Chicago, including a disgruntled baker at Eataly who pulled a gun on co-workers, a stabbing at a Ross department store, and an attack at an Elmhurst Portillo’s by a male subcontractor. Security expert Sean Ahrens emphasizes the increase in workplace violence due to various stressors and outlines four main types of workplace violence: criminal intent, worker and customer, worker-on-worker, and personal relationship violence. Ahrens stresses the importance of communication in preventing such incidents and advises against recording escalating situations, recommending instead to distance oneself from potential danger.