Inside Coquette restaurant in North Hills, a framed picture collage sits on the bar, with a candle burning in front of it. It's a memorial to Jonathan Schaffer, the employee who police say was killed by the restaurant's head chef, George Colom, Jr. According to Raleigh police, Colom came to work on Jan. 17, 2025, with a gun and shot two coworkers, one fatally, before killing himself as the restaurant prepared to open.
For the first time, Coquette's owner, Kevin Jennings, is sharing his insight on the shooting, the challenges since, and his unwavering hope for the future.
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January 17, 2025
Jennings said he and his wife, who co-own Coquette, were at home on the day of the shooting.
"We received a phone call from an employee," he recalled. "That employee explained to us that they thought that something bad had happened over at Coquette. They were like you probably need to get up there immediately."
Timeline: Jan. 17, 2025 North Hills shooting
Jennings said, as they drove up, they were met with a swarm of police officers and closed roads.
"We got out of the car and we came up to the officer ...we explained who we were. We ended up showing him tapes from inside the restaurant so they could access them, so they could have the evidence that they needed," he said.
The challenges
Reflecting on the past year, Jennings said the restaurant has struggled financially, noting any hardship they face pales in comparison to what Schaffer's family has endured.
"It's difficult in sales, staffing, that kind of thing," Jennings said. "But ultimately Jonathan's family paid the ultimate price."
Jennings said, since the shooting, business is down 25%.
"In 2024, we were hitting on all strides. All cylinders were slamming," he said. "This restaurant was busier than it ever had been. In 2024 we set records, we were achieving new sales."
After the shooting, he said they had to start from scratch on a menu.
"The kitchen refused to cook [Colom's] food, so we had to change the entire menu," he said. "All the recipes were thrown in the garbage can, and we started from scratch."
The suspect
Jennings said Colom had been working at Coquette only a few months when the shooting occurred, yet he had seen no red flags about his behavior or mental state.
"He was a joy," Jennings said. "He came in, he was serious, he was a fabulous chef. He was very well-trained. We got lucky, that's what I was thinking the whole time. But we did not get lucky. More than anything, Jonathan [got] the worst of that. Horrific. Horrible."
The victims
Jennings said Schaffer had started working at Coquette only a couple months, at most, before the shooting, yet he had worked within Jennings' restaurant family prior to that.
"Jonathan worked at three different restaurants for us," he said. "Super nice guy. Really well liked amongst the staff. Great guy, everyone liked him. He was one of the guys you could call, [he] would always pick up shifts."
WRAL News has made multiple attempts to reach Schaffer's family since the shooting and has not been successful.
North Hills shooting victim describes moments before he was shot
The employee who was injured, Jonathan Aguilar, spoke exclusively with WRAL's Sarah Krueger on the day of the shooting.
Jennings said Aguilar still works at Coquette.
Raleigh police never released a motive for the shooting.
"We have been told by the investigative bodies that it didn't have anything to do with work," Jennings said. "Didn't have anything to do with Coquette."
"The future is quite bright"
Jennings said, while the shooting presented many challenges for the restaurant, it also showed them how many supporters they have.
"If you can put any kind of positive, silver lining on something that was so horrific, Kane Realty rallied to our side," Jennings said. "Was a huge supportive factor to us."
The community and staff also showed their support.
"So many letters of love and appreciation. Wanting us to be here, wanting us to make it, that kind of thing."
Looking ahead, Jennings is optimistic about the restaurant. He said they named a new head chef this month.
More growth is expected at North Hills, drawing additional people to the already popular area. Jennings hopes patrons will steadily come back to his restaurant.
"The future is quite bright," he said. "You put one foot in front of the other. You move on."
Coquette has been in the same location for 16 years, and the owners are hoping for at least 16 more.
"There's so much good that I hope that people will be able to overlook and/or forget or not be afraid of the past," Jennings said.
