Shireen Afkari Restaurant Scandal In San Francisco Ended With A Major Takedown From 'Giant' Staff: Here's The Context

A late-night disturbance at a Hayes Valley restaurant turned into an incident that ended with arrests, online identification, and an employer cutting ties.

On Saturday night, an altercation unfolded at Hazie's, a restaurant at 501 Hayes Street in San Francisco, after a visibly tired and emotional customer and her companion arrived appearing already intoxicated. According to bartender Miguel Marchese, the couple were seated for dinner before asking to speak to the manager, who later removed their drinks from the table. Events escalated when the customer entered the kitchen filming, slapped away a hostess's raised hand during a de-escalation attempt, and moved behind the bar to harass staff, prompting filming by patrons and employees.

Escalation Inside The Restaurant

Video shows the customer shouting at a manager off camera and knocking a phone from a filmer's hand, while her companion followed behind. In a second clip, the customer lunged at another patron who was filming and struck him, then turned on a Hazie's staff member, who responded by body-slamming her in defense. A combination of patrons and staff attempted to escort the pair out as cheers broke out when they were removed from the bar area.

Once outside, the incident continued on the pavement, where Marchese said the instigator grabbed his hair and refused to let go while her companion also held on. Marchese said pleas to release him were ignored until he seized the customer's phone and threw it away, explaining, 'I needed to give her an incentive to let me go. So, I grabbed her phone out of her hands and I chucked that sh*t.' The customer released his hair to chase the phone, police later arrived, and the couple were arrested.

Online Identification And Viral Spread

Footage spread quite quickly across Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and X. Internet users identified the pair as Shireen Afkari, described as a senior manager of growth marketing and retention at Strava, and Christian Bruchman, a staff scientist at Advanced Land and Water, with their LinkedIn profiles deleted by Monday afternoon.

Because of the online backlash, Strava has also taken action, with a pinned message on their Instagram stating 'We are aware of an employee who exhibited extremely concerning off-hours behavior.' They concluded the statement by saying that ultimately, 'We made the decision to end the individual's employment.' No statement has yet been cited from Advanced Land and Water regarding Bruchman.

Support For Hazie's Staff

As videos circulated, online users rallied behind Hazie's, leaving a surge of five-star reviews on Google and Yelp. Many reviews were captionless, while others read messages such as 'Shout out to the staff' and 'Great job all staff handling the out of control couple. Give them a raise.' The activity boosted the restaurant's rating despite most reviewers not claiming first-hand visits.

Service Work And Social Media Accountability

Marchese, who has worked behind the bar for eight years, said recording incidents has changed accountability in service settings. 'I've literally been spit on, I've been slapped, I've been called homophobic slurs, and I've been sexualised by guests,' he said, adding, 'Five years ago, you got away with that behaviour because the customer was always right.

He said social platforms now expose conduct and lead to consequences, stating, 'Just because someone works in service, doesn't mean you can treat them like this.' Marchese said he does not intend to press charges following the arrests. Earlier this year, he said a housing scam in Manhattan cost him more than £4,444 (approximately $6,000), and he wants to end the year without further legal action. 'I'm not that person. I just don't want my hair to be pulled out,' he said with a laugh.