Things just got messy at a Fayetteville restaurant, and not in the kitchen. The Friends Table refusing to pay employees has turned into a full-blown scandal, with paychecks missing and the police being called—all because the kitchen staff asked, “Where the money reside?”
Portia Grady, owner of The Friends Table on Hay Street, is being called out after allegedly stiffing her staff for weeks. And instead of addressing their concerns like a professional, she reportedly called the Fayetteville Police Department when they showed up to work trying to get answers about their missing pay.
On Saturday, May 10, employee Stan Jones posted on Facebook accusing Grady of calling the cops on him when he simply asked about the team’s overdue checks. In his post, Jones claimed it had been three weeks without pay, and that when the kitchen crew confronted her, she had law enforcement respond.
“She asked us if we could step to the front of the restaurant. Well, we’re standing by the bar waiting for her to come out of the kitchen, and she comes out on the phone and she’s like, ‘It’s a non-emergency, and I have employees in the building that won’t leave,’ Jones said.”
Jones told The North Carolina Beat that he had been working at the same kitchen since it operated as “Breakfast With Tiffany” before Portia Grady took it over and opened The Friends Table earlier this year. According to him, Grady never fired the kitchen staff—around 7 or 8 employees in total—and they’ve all been clocking in, cooking, and waiting… for their pay.
Jones says that after the original POS system was replaced, employees were asked to text in their work hours. He shared screenshots with us of texts from Makallah Riden, Grady’s ex-girlfriend and current General Manager, asking for unpaid hours to be sent over so they could allegedly “get everyone paid.”
“As we were waiting on the new system, we had to start writing down our times to turn in, in order to get paid,” Jones told The North Carolina Beat.
So on Saturday, May 10, Jones showed up to work and asked Grady directly about the missing checks. He said she ignored him, and then called the cops.
According to a Fayetteville Police report, Grady claimed there was a “disturbance” at the restaurant—though all Jones and his coworkers were doing was asking about their pay.
Jones said the team is struggling to even show up because they’re not getting paid on time—or at all. He explained how Grady had split his April 26 paycheck and paid the balance on May 2. But May 9 came and went with nothing.
The North Carolina Beat reached out to Makallah Riden at the number in the text message above. When we asked about the unpaid hours, she hung up.
We also reached out to Portia Grady, who has yet to respond. However, she did post a video on her Facebook—crying, rambling, and offering no clear explanation about her staff’s missing wages. Instead, it was more “I’m so hurt,” “I helped these people,” and “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen” energy.
5 thoughts on “The Friends Table Refusing to Pay Employees? Owner Called Police When Staff Asked About Their Pay”
Contact the usdol.gov located in Washington DC because they take action fast also file a class action lawsuit against them.
This whole situation sucks! I hate the way our local places keep closing/having money problems!
Omg. I was romanticizing about bringing my girl to this restaurant. I didn’t know that they were enslaving people there. It looked so nice inside. Who would have thought this establishment was so troubled.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST INSTANCE. I was a manager for sometime and was removed in a similar way without 2 weeks of pay. I attempted to report it but nothing was done. Nobody believed me.
Every employee who is owed money needs to contact the Dept of Labor immediately! They should also resign immediately in writing & for heavens sake do not show up there to work!