Buona Beef Bosses Battered Berwyn Protesters, Police Say

BERWYN, IL — Two of the partners in a suburban Italian beef chain have been charged with battery in connection with an altercation on the sidewalk of the company's flagship location in Berwyn. Video recorded by members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 appears to show Joseph Buonavolanto striking the hand of one of the protesters criticizing Buona's use of a low-wage construction worker who was filming Jim Buonavolanto knocking down banners and taking away fliers.

The video, posted by Local 150 Wednesday, shows a man identified as Joseph Buonavolanto berating the protesters with a string of profanity as they stood on public property beside the restaurants parking lot attempting to distribute leaflets. In another video, a man identified as his uncle, Jim Buonavolanto, sprays the union members with a hose.

"Unbelievable. If you work hard maybe you had a shot at being [expletive] successful in life instead of being a [expletive] thief," said Joseph Buonavolanto, whose grandfather founded the restaurant chain.

Joseph Buonavolanto was charged with one count of battery. Jim Buonavolanto was charged with two counts of battery. Both were released on $1,000 bail ahead of a Sept. 20 court hearing in Maywood.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, Buona Beef was founded in 1981 and has annual sales of $81 million. The company said it plans to open five more locations in 2017 to add to its existing 18. In the video, Joseph Buonavolanto describes Buona as a "billion-dollar company" while Jim sprays the union members with a hose because of a need to "clean the sidewalk."

According to the company's website, "love, respect, compassion, and pride are the core values that unite the brothers, and the Buona family of employees."

Local 150 President James M. Sweeney described the Buonavolantos behavior as "unacceptable."

"These protesters were exercising their free speech rights in an entirely peaceful manner," Sweeney said. "Local law enforcement immediately recognized the serious nature of the offenders’ attacks and threats and responded appropriately." (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for your Chicagoland community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Neither accused Buonavolanto returned messages seeking their version of events. Instead, the family issued a statement through a public relations firm.

The Buonavolanto family and Buona Restaurants express our sincere apologies for an event that took place outside of our restaurant in Berwyn, Illinois, on August 15th. Members of our family did not uphold our values when responding to a union demonstration that disrupted our business. What started out as a peaceful discussion turned into an unprofessional exchange. This was an isolated incident that occurred in the heat of the moment. It is not representative of the way our family does business. We respect the rights of unions, union members, their families, and all of our customers whom we have had the pleasure of serving for many years in the Chicagoland area.

Blast Marketing Managing Partner Laurie Cairns spoke to Patch on behalf of Buona Restaurants. She said the sidewalk needed to be cleaned because of leaked gas from a large inflatable rat. She also said the presence of the demonstrators impeded people from coming and going from the restaurant and its parking lot and disrupted the business.

The protesters were "intimidating and disturbing customers and kind of preventing them from coming and leaving and kind of freaking people out a little bit," Cairns said.

Top photo: Men identified as Jim Buonavolanto (with hose) and Joseph Buonavolanto confront union protestors in Berwyn Aug. 15 | YouTube