Lady Luck owner sells stake in Glenwood Avenue restaurant after online allegations
Another Raleigh restaurant owner has left his company amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Raleigh restaurateur Balu Torres is out at Lady Luck, the restaurant he founded earlier this year on Glenwood Avenue. Torres was bought out by other partners in the restaurant, selling off his majority ownership stake in the company.
Last Thursday, allegations against Torres were posted on the restaurant review site Yelp by a guest at Lady Luck who said she met Torres three weeks ago at the restaurant, took free shots with him and that they left together that night. In the post, the woman alleges Torres invited her to a party, but that it was only the two of them, that she took another shot and woke up unclothed the next day.
The review where the allegations were first posted has been removed from Lady Luck’s page, but screen shots of it and text messages remain.
In a brief phone interview with The News & Observer, Torres confirmed that he has sold his share of the restaurant.
“I’m personally not involved in the restaurant after a buyout by the other partners,” Torres said.
Torres declined to comment on the specific allegations.
“I don’t want to say anything until everything is all cleared up,” Torres said.
The News & Observer attempted to reach the woman who made the allegations through Facebook, Instagram and Yelp, but she did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday or Wednesday.
‘Misconduct of this nature will not be tolerated’
On Monday, a message was posted to Lady Luck’s Instagram page, saying that Torres was no longer with the restaurant. Chef Kevin Ruiz and beverage director Megan Corbally are partners in the restaurant, but said in an interview with the News & Observer that Torres’ share was purchased by a silent partner.
In the interview, the two said they first learned of the allegations minutes before dinner service Saturday evening.
“It was tough, I was in complete shock at first,” Torres said. “It was stressful.”
Ruiz said Torres stopped by Lady Luck that night but was asked to leave.
Ruiz and Corbally said Torres offered to step down as the restaurant’s owner the next day.
“Misconduct of this nature will not be tolerated in any restaurant I’m part of, that we’re part of,” Corbally said. “It was in the best interest of everyone that we go our separate ways.”
Torres has been involved in the openings of multiple Mexican restaurants in the Triangle, including Chido Tacos and Viva Mexican Kitchen, but Lady Luck was the only project he was part of recently.
Lady Luck opened for takeout in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and later added dine-in service as North Carolina moved into Phase Two of its reopening plan.
Brewery Bhavana and Neomonde
Torres’ ousting follows other allegations against high profile figures within the Triangle’s restaurant community.
Last month, Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana co-owner Vansana Nolintha stepped down from the restaurants after former employees alleged sexual misconduct and harassment.
Last week, Neomonde co-founder and former CEO Samir “Sam” Saleh was accused of sexual misconduct by former employees, leading to an investigation within the company.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
