Raleigh restaurant Neomonde promises investigation after allegations against co-founder
When she was 19 and working at Neomonde Mediterranean’s Beryl Road location in Raleigh in 2015, Chelsea Pollard said she was asked by company founder Samir “Sam” Saleh to ride with him to pick out new furniture for the restaurant.
She said she was flattered by the opportunity.
As they were driving, Pollard alleges Saleh put his hand on her knee and inside her leg, touched her face and arms and asked for oral sex.
“He asked if I had a boyfriend, and I was dumb, and I said no,” Pollard said of the incident. “Then he asked if I did have a boyfriend, what would I do for him with my mouth? I said I can’t do anything, I just got this new piercing. Then he said, ‘I’m sure you can do other things.’ ”
Pollard said she filed a formal complaint with Neomonde’s human resources department and met with HR managers, who she said told her she had misunderstood Saleh’s actions. A week later, she said there was a second HR meeting, this time with Saleh present.
“They didn’t tell me he was going to be there,” Pollard said. “Sam told me he was sorry if I misunderstood what he was saying.”
After the meetings, Pollard said her hours at the restaurant were cut from around 40 per week to 15. She said she had to quit the job because she could no longer support herself.
Allegations posted on social media
The News & Observer has reviewed screenshots of text messages from 2015 where Pollard notifies a manager of the incident, as well as email correspondence between Pollard and Neomonde’s HR department.
After quitting her job at Neomonde, Pollard said she regularly posted her allegations on social media every few months. In May 2015, Neomonde’s attorneys sent Pollard a cease and desist order threatening further legal action if she continued making her allegations.
Also in May 2015, Pollard filed an incident report with the Raleigh Police Department about her experience with Saleh. Charges were never filed.
Over the past weekend, Pollard posted her story on Reddit, and it was shared widely on social media.
On Wednesday morning, Neomonde released a statement acknowledging the allegations, noting that an employee had filed a formal complaint in 2015. It also said it had become aware of additional allegations of misconduct by Sam Saleh.
“These allegations are heartbreaking, as Neomonde’s current management team has worked hard to cultivate an environment that fervently denounces sexual misconduct and emphasizes the importance of community and respect,” the company said in a statement. “Misconduct of any kind has no place in our restaurants, and we will continue to do all we can to prevent it.”
The director of operations for Neomonde, Ennio Di Nino, said in an email Wednesday that the restaurant’s current management team was unaware of the 2015 allegations, but began an internal investigation of them when Pollard’s social media post was shared. He said confidentially issues prevent him from addressing the allegations specifically.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sam Saleh released a statement apologizing for his behavior.
“I want to publicly apologize for the pain and anguish that my behavior has caused to previous employees, and for the shame I’ve caused my family and their business,” Saleh said in an emailed statement. “Since my retirement in 2019, I have been working to relinquish my role as an owner. In order to help restore confidence in Neomonde and provide a more comfortable environment for their employees and customers, I am working with the current leadership team to expedite this transition.”
Neomonde was founded as a bakery by Sam Saleh, his three brothers and his parents, Cecilia and Fahd. The company grew to include restaurant locations in Morrisville, Raleigh and, most recently, Durham.
Sam Saleh divesting from company
The more than 40-year-old company said that last year it had started annual sexual harassment prevention training for all employees.
In its statement, Neomonde downplayed Sam Saleh’s role in the company he helped found, saying he hadn’t managed the bakery in 15 years and last year stepped down and retired as CEO.
Di Nino said the timing of Saleh’s retirement was not influenced by any allegations of misconduct.
In its statement Wednesday, Neomonde said Saleh is divesting from the company.
“We will do all we can to expedite this process,” the company said in a statement. “Neomonde’s highest priority is the health and safety of our employees, our patrons and our community. We take these allegations very seriously, and we will be launching an independent audit of our policies and procedures to ensure that we are doing everything we can to promote a safe work environment for our employees and create a welcoming space for our community.”
Di Nino said that Neomonde is currently working with its attorney to identify a firm to conduct the investigation.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 12:40 PM.
