CHARLESTON — A woman is suing Mimi's Local Cafe alleging that she was sexually harassed by her manager at the restaurant.
T.R., a mother of three children, worked for American Restaurants, which owns Mimi's Local Cafe and Ivy's, as a cashier and a server, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
T.R. claims George Chaouki behaved inappropriately, making vulgar sexual comments and even asked her to have sex with him.
She claims in July 2020, he blatantly stared at her body, making her feel uncomfortable, and then commented on her buttocks. She claims the comments shocked her and when he took her he wanted to go into his private office with her, which she refused to do so and told him the comments were inappropriate.
T.R. claims her hours then began to get cut and when she worked up the courage to ask why her hours were being cut, she was told it was for other reasons. She claims when she asked if it was because she had refused to have sex with him, Chaouki became irate and accused her of sexually harassing him and fired her.
The manager allegedly threatened her and yelled at her as she left the premises, telling her if she told anyone about the incident, he would "own every paycheck" she earned for the remainder of her life.
T.R. is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Robert Warner and Jack Dolance of Warner Law Offices.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 21-C-183