Employees accuse The Hall at Ashford Lane of malfeasance

By Cathy Cobbs

Former employees of the recently shuttered Dunwoody dining spot, The Hall at Ashford Lane, are accusing its owner of failing to pay them and using vulnerable undocumented workers to keep the failing operation afloat.

Rough Draft interviewed eight former employees who say they are owed thousands of dollars in wages and claim the owner, Jamal Malek Wilson, has refused to answer phone calls or texts.

In a brief comment to Rough Draft on would be okay with hiring undocumented workers. I had a face-to-face conversation with him after the meeting,” the former cook said. “I asked him specifically, ‘Are you saying that I should find some undocumented workers?’ and he gave me the green light.”

The cook recruited at least seven people, including his own mother, to join the ranks at The Hall.

Another former cook, Jahmaris Nesbitt, said managers fired employees for “a variety of petty reasons” and quietly replaced them with undocumented workers whom they would pay in cash.

Late payments, bounced checks

All the former employees interviewed by Rough Draft said Wilson painted a rosy picture of the company’s finances.

At first, the employees were getting paid on time, but by mid-June they heard reports of late payments, underpayments, and bounced checks.

José Rodriguez, who worked as a cook at the El Greco food stall, said he heard rumors about unpaid employees, but “didn’t think a lot about it” because he had direct deposit.

“Then it happened to me,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t get paid, and then I got a paper check. When I went to the bank to cash the check, my bank told me the (restaurant’s) account was in the negative.”

After five weeks of delays and broken promises, according to the employees, tempers were at an all-time high. Several people shared screenshots of texts sent on June 29 by Anthony Rubero, an investor in the Hall, promising people would be paid on July 3.

In the text, Rubero thanked the employees “for holding on with us.”

About 30 people came to the Hall that day, promised they would receive either cash or checks. Others were told their wages would be deposited in their accounts by 5 p.m.

Radio silence from owners

Nesbitt said the group waited outside for hours on that hot July day.

What went wrong?

The question of who is to blame for the failure of the Hall may be as simple as looking at Wilson’s history.

Of Wilson’s food hall projects that were either in the concept stage or those that reached fruition, only one remains open – but is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Rough Draft did a survey of the properties Wilson controlled since 2017, and found, through court filings and news reports, that three of his ventures failed and several proposed projects never got off the ground.

The Hall on Mag opened in August 2022 in New Orleans and closed in December. The Hall on Franklin in Tampa opened in 2017 and closed in 2020.The Hall on the Yard opened in 2021 in Orlando and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023.

Wilson gave various explanations for the failures – the pandemic, unanticipated tenant buildout costs, space limitations, and in the case of The Hall at Ashford Lane, “some financial difficulty.”

Rough Draft contacted the Dunwoody property owners – Daytona Beach, Fla.based CTO Realty Growth, which purchased the 269,000-square-foot retail center in 2020 – with questions about Wilson, the process for vetting credit-worthy tenants, and plans for the now-shuttered space. Representatives from the company did not respond. The ’deal’

Was Not A Deal

July 9, Wilson said, “All employees are being paid as we speak, as we had some financial difficulty.”

However, the employees interviewed by Rough Draft reported they have not received any funds through a bank draft or check.

The Hall, which had nine food stalls and reportedly housed Georgia’s largest bar, opened May 26 and closed abruptly July 5. There had been complaints on social media about poor service, menu items that were unavailable and/or perceived as overpriced, but most were surprised by signs posted on the building stating “This business is closed until further notice.”

However, the employees interviewed by Rough Draft said they saw flaws in the business from the start, including a disorganized management team, a lack of communication regarding specific job duties and increased hiring of off-the-books workers.

Under-the-table payments

One employee who asked for anonymity said Wilson told him to recruit undocumented workers after disgruntled unpaid employees quit.

“We had a meeting and Jamal said he

“When we started out, there were maybe six people working in the kitchen who were undocumented,” Nesbitt said. “By the time it closed, I would say undocumented workers made up 90 percent of the back-of-house staff.”

Arbitrary firings

Nesbitt said she witnessed several incidents wherein legitimate employees were fired for small infractions.

“We were really slow one day and one of the workers asked if she could go across the street to get some food for her child,” Nesbitt said. “She was given permission by her supervisor, and when she got back, she was fired on the spot.”

Another person with knowledge of the operation said Wilson and other managers also pressured on-the-books employees to accept cash in lieu of direct deposit.

“They asked eligible workers to also be paid under the table and not sign official employment contracts,” the source said.

“I feel, in this scenario, that they would be able to avoid as many legal ramifications as possible for the wage theft that ensued.”

“I finally opened the doors and let them inside because otherwise, they would have been waiting in the hot sun,” she said.

After five hours, it became obvious the promised bailout would not happen. Wilson, Rubero, and The Hall’s other managers stopped answering text messages or phone calls from the waiting employees.

Rodriguez, who says he is owed $2,000 in back wages is “up to my neck in bills” and facing eviction. He is not alone.

Sharie Shepherd, a mother of five children, was hired as a prep cook for $17.50 an hour in mid-May. After her paycheck bounced in late June, she was promised to be made whole by July 3. She is still waiting for her back wages, estimated at $2,800.

Shepherd says she is now homeless. She has daily calls from TitleMax threatening to repossess her car and other bill collectors sending her texts about past-due accounts. She, like others, has contacted Wilson seeking a letter of separation so she can apply for food stamps and unemployment, but has yet to receive any written documentation.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist those who are experiencing financial difficulties because of The Hall’s closure. The page has only gathered about $900 in donations as of July 24.

A Dunwoody chef who won a 2021 contest for a complimentary vendor space at the Hall said she nixed the deal because of the overwhelming financial burden she would have had to assume in taking the space.

Teresa Acosta, who has a thriving catering business called Renzo’s Fire, said initially she was excited about winning the contest, which was pitched as a “nationwide search.”

“At first, I thought this would be a lifechanging moment for me and my family,” said the single mother of three, who had been working full-time as a private chef after being laid off from her job in 2020.

However, after reviewing Wilson’s contract and consulting with industry friends, she realized the “deal” wasn’t really one at all.

“I would have had to build out the space myself and put up $40,000 of my own money,” Acosta said. “Then after six months, I would have to pay $16,000 a month in rent.’”

“In running the numbers, I would have had to gross $2 million in revenue just to make it to break-even,” she said. “I just don’t think there’s a market for a $15 Cuban sandwich in Dunwoody.”