Former Lady Luck owner accused of misconduct, restaurant faces wage accusations

The woman who went public with accusations of sexual misconduct involving a Glenwood South restaurant and bar owner said she just wants to know what happened to her that night.

On July 2, the woman, who has asked her name not be used in this story, posted a review on Lady Luck’s Yelp page detailing accusations involving Balu Torres, one of the restaurant’s owners at the time. She has since removed the post.

Following the accusation, Balu Torres, whose legal name is Juan A. Sanchez, was bought out by a silent partner, general manager Cat Edman confirmed to WRAL. Other owners Chef Kevin Ruiz and beverage director Megan Corbally remain at the Glenwood South​ restaurant.

WRAL attempted to reach Corbally and Ruiz for comment, but was directed by the restaurant’s publicist to contact their attorney, Morgan Davis, who has not responded to our questions.

The woman said the incident occurred June 13 following a night of drinking at Lady Luck. She said she had been to the restaurant and bar once before that night.

“We heard they had a DJ. We had a couple drinks and Balu approached us and asked if we wanted a shot. I saw it as he was being friendly,” she said.

The woman said Torres introduced himself as the owner of the bar and even exchanged numbers with her in case she wanted to come back to the venue.

The woman said Torres offered her two more free shots throughout the night.

“I was pretty intoxicated at that point, having a good time,” she said.

The woman said Torres asked her and her friends if they wanted to go to an after-party.

“I thought it was a group thing,” she said.

The woman said Torres offered to drive her to the after-party.

“We pull up to a big house. I thought everyone else was going to arrive. The last thing I remember is me taking another drink or shot,” she said.

The woman said it was just her and Torres at the home, located at Rodessa Run in Raleigh.

The woman said she vaguely remembers oral sex while at the home.

The next morning, the woman said she woke up naked in a bedroom on the third floor of the home. She said she had a sharp pain in her inner thigh that a month later continues to cause her pain.

The woman said Torres was not at the home when she woke up, but another man was. She said the man told her that was his home and Torres had gone to work early. He told her that her clothing was downstairs in the living room.

The woman said she got dressed and called a Lyft to pick her up. She said she didn’t go to authorities or to the hospital for evaluation. She also said she never told anyone else about what happened that night.

“I wanted to get home, shower and go to sleep. I didn’t think I got raped,” the woman said.

The woman said she texted Torres on June 15 to ask him if he knew why her leg was hurting, but got no response.

“I didn’t want to believe anything happened,” the woman said.

Three or four days later, the woman said she started to think about the events of that night. “I was putting the pieces together,” she said.

WRAL has obtained text messages that show the woman asking Torrres about what happened that night. Her first text message was sent on June 15 with another sent on June 20.

“Please don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, last Saturday I left with you, and you took me to your friend (sp) house, I don’t remember anything of that night and the next morning I wake up naked, with an extreme pain in my right leg, in a strangers (sp) house,” the June 20 text read.

Torres appears to answer her by texting, “We more than welcome to show cameras. We have security cameras everywhere. Not a problem.”

The woman said she went back to Lady Luck one more time after the incident for a close friend’s birthday. She had hoped to confront Torres in person about that night.

“The only reason I went back was that I hoped he’d give me an explanation in person,” she said. “I was hoping to talk to him before making anything public. I just kind of wanted an explanation and I wanted the truth.”

The woman said Torres wasn’t working that day.

After failing to get answers from Torres, the woman said she penned the Yelp review.

“I wanted to let the whole community know. I was just trying to put my story out there,” the woman said. “I didn’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.”

The woman said she wrote the post before going to San Diego to deal with family issues. She said that Torres contacted her following the Yelp post.

“I didn’t want to answer (him). He got really persistent,” the woman said. “He called me crying, begging me to delete the post. Said he was contemplating suicide.”

The woman said Torres threatened legal action if she didn’t take the review down.

“Eventually I went and deleted the review because I didn’t want my name to be out there,” the woman said. “I wanted the whole nightmare to end.”

The woman said Torres told her he had left the Rodessa Run home minutes after they had arrived and claimed that he had security video to prove it. She said Torres also promised to provide her answers about what happened that night.

Since their conversation, the woman said that Torres has not provided security video or information about what happened that night.

Less than a week after the Yelp post, Torres cut ties with Lady Luck, selling his portion of the business to a silent partner.

WRAL has called and left messages for Torres. He has not returned those calls.

Yelp post sparks wage accusations

The Yelp post sparked some former employees to come forward regarding wage issues at Lady Luck, which opened its doors at 222 Glenwood Ave. in March.

Tristen Schuster said she started working at Lady Luck a few weeks before they had to close due to the coronavirus.

"They never collected any tax documents from me," Schuster said.

When the business was closed due to the virus, Schuster said she reached out about payment and was told to come to the business to get a check. Schuster said she received a check for wages that was below what she expected. In addition, the check appeared to be a personal check written by Torres, aka Juan A. Sanchez, not from Lady Luck LLC. Torres was still part-owner at the time, the employee said.

WRAL has obtained a copy of the canceled check, which bears a signature for Sanchez and includes his name. No Lady Luck LLC info can be seen on the check.

"I asked them for an actual paycheck with taxes taken out and they said, 'Don't worry about it. Taxes are done. It's been handled,'" Schuster said.

Schuster said she noted to Edman that she was not paid for training hours. Screenshots of messages between Edman and Schuster, obtained by WRAL, show an exchange between the two involving the nonpayment.

"I will get you $150 on Tuesday - I'll either have you come grab cash or I can see how fast I can get Balu to Venmo you," Edman wrote in the text exchange.

Schuster said she was given $130 in cash from Torres.

In screenshots of text messages dated April 8 obtained by WRAL between Schuster and Edman, Schuster asked if her payments had been taxed.

"Yes we asked the accountant for the total," Edman writes.

Schuster then notes that she never filled out a tax form.

"We told her one dependent," Edman writes.

Two other workers tell WRAL that their tax forms were also not collected by Lady Luck management. One of those workers said she worked for 10 hours, in what was supposed to be a "stage shift" to see if she liked the job and wanted to work there. The woman noted that she had not expected to be working a full shift and was never paid for her hours there.

The other former employee, who asked not to be named in this story, said that she was hired in February and worked five days of training and worked a Feb. 20 pop-up event for Lady Luck. She says she was never paid. The worker claims she contacted Edman about payment but did not hear back.

On March 30, the second former employee filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Labor regarding the issue. WRAL has obtained a copy of an email sent to the employee confirming the filing.

In a phone call with WRAL on July 9, Edman said that all employees have been paid. She also denied allegations that the company had not collected tax forms or paperwork.

"They can’t start a shift without tax papers with paperwork," Edman said.

Edman said that all employees are paid with a company check and that only tips might come in cash form.

WRAL has attempted to reach Corbally and Ruiz for comment on these accusations, but was directed by the restaurant’s publicist to contact their attorney, who has not responded to our questions.