Lexington restaurant employees haven’t been paid in weeks. Now it’s temporarily closed

Alodia’s Italian restaurant in Lexington has temporarily closed its doors after staff said their checks have bounced and they have not been paid for two weeks.

Lauren Brunson, who worked for two years as one of three managers at the restaurant, said issues began June 20 when several staff members were unable to cash their checks.

By June 28, managers at the West Main Street restaurant had decided to have a “cash-only day” in an attempt to pay staff. At the end of the day, employees decided to close the restaurant.

“I mean, it’s the end of the month and the beginning of a new month. I mean, everybody has bills due,” Brunson said. “The number one thing that you’re supposed to do for your employees is keep them happy, keep them paid. And when that’s not happening, I would have had so much more respect for (the owner) if he had addressed the issue.”

According to Brunson, Alodia’s owner Adam Huneau is currently on vacation and has not communicated with staff members about their concerns.

Zoe Spires, a former server at the Alodia’s for about two and a half years, took to Facebook before June 28, asking for any customers visiting to pay with cash. Spires said she thought getting word about the situation out to the community was important.

“I wanted people who go to Alodia’s to know that the tips that they’ve been leaving their servers wasn’t coming to us,” Spires said. “The money they spend is going to someone who doesn’t care about his employees.”

In her Facebook post, Spires said that while some employees were paid or given cash from the general manager’s personal account, multiple staff members were still waiting on money from working Monday.

Huneau replied to Spires’ post but otherwise has not publicly commented on the situation.

“Zoe is correct, there has been a cash flow issue for sure,” Huneau wrote on Spires’ post. “We are actively pursuing measures to correct it and it will be rectified.”

Huneau commented that the lack of pay was not intentional and said he plans to compensate Spires and reopen the restaurant. Spires said that she has yet to be compensated.

“It’s been a very challenging three years. I would appreciate everyone’s support when we reopen as we did recently at the Irmo store,” Huneau wrote in a comment. “Lexington will reopen and continue to serve the great community there.”

Alodia’s serves Italian food, featuring a variety of homemade pasta dishes for dinner. In 2019, Huneau was named the South Carolina Small Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Administration.

Brunson and Spires said checks had bounced before this month but that the problem was always resolved in the past.

According to Spires, Alodia’s was typically a popular and busy restaurant in Lexington. Brunson said the staff had a strong relationship with each other and the community.

“We’ve had our regulars, and that’s also part of what makes me really sad is that we’ve gotten to know the community,” Brunson said. “That’s also been ripped away from us, all those relationships.”

In the comments under Spires’ post, community members offered jobs and expressed their concerns about the situation while other employees explained their shared experiences.

“This sounds like less of a community problem and more of an illegal work situation. After not being paid, i sure wouldn’t return for more. File a wage complaint and move to a more reliable place. I’m sorry you are dealing with this,” one person commented.

Spires said she and other employees plan to take legal action.

“We all agree that this legal action should be done because not only has it affected our livelihood, but also our mental state on all of us who are extremely upset,” Spires said. “We work our butts off, and we work to pay for the things that we have.”

The restaurant’s Irmo location, 2736 North Lake Drive, is still open.