Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana co-owner to leave restaurants amid harassment allegations
Vansana Nolintha, the leader and co-owner of Raleigh’s Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, said he will permanently step away from the acclaimed restaurants after sexual harassment allegations were made on social media.
In an email shared with The News & Observer, Nolintha told staff members Wednesday that he will divest his ownership stake in the companies, step down as managing partner and have no role in the restaurants’ future.
“As an owner and manager of Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, I was not the leader that I intended to be,” Nolintha wrote in his email.
Nolintha opened Bida Manda with his sister, Vanvisa, in 2012. He later opened Brewery Bhavana in 2017, bringing in Patrick Woodson as a third partner.
In the past week, the restaurants have faced sexual harassment allegations on social media from multiple former employees, including an account of Nolintha initiating a sexual encounter with a younger employee.
In his email, Nolintha said he is stepping away to “assure change” in the restaurants, but he suggests that the restaurants plan to remain in business.
“I wholeheartedly believe both restaurants will continue to contribute to this community,” Nolintha wrote. “To assure change, I will have no role in the companies’ future. I will no longer serve as a managing partner and will divest my ownership in both companies.”
On Tuesday, Vanvisa Nolintha and Woodson said an independent investigation would be conducted into the alleged sexual harassment within the restaurants. They added that Vansana would step away from the restaurants during the investigation. With Wednesday’s email, that move appears to be permanent.
Brewery Bhavana and Bida Manda are among Raleigh’s most popular and acclaimed restaurants, collecting awards and national press.
In a series of social media posts over the last week and in interviews with The News & Observer, former employees of the restaurants allege incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct.
Among the allegations, former Bida Manda bartender Nicole Bivins said she was sexually harassed by the restaurant’s bar manager, Jordan Hester, who she called a mentor, close friend and the initial reason she joined the restaurant.
Bivins worked at Bida Manda from its opening in 2012 to 2017. She said Hester made inappropriate comments to her and once got into a bed with her and groped her.
Later Bivins said she told Hester the encounter had been unwanted and made her uncomfortable. After that, both Bivins and other former employees said, the bar manager grew hostile toward her and scheduled her for lunch shifts rather than more profitable dinner shifts.
A message from the N&O to Hester requesting comment has not been returned.
On Wednesday, WRAL reported that a spokesperson with the restaurants said Hester, who was the bar manager at both Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana, was no longer with the company.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana co-owner to leave restaurants amid harassment allegations."
