Critics of Barnum-Dann surfaced in a torrent of social media posts after he announced plans to expand Betty to East Sacramento<\/a> and open three new businesses at 16th Street and Broadway.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a series of interviews with Abridged, four former employees \u2013 including two men and two women \u2013 accused Barnum-Dann of repeated sexual misconduct during their time working at Localis and Betty.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The former employees described instances where Barnum-Dann groped staff in the kitchen, propositioned them for sex and humiliated them in front of coworkers. Former employees recalled one incident in which Barnum-Dann bent over a kitchen staff member and pressed his body against her during a staff line-up.<\/p>\n Alleged misconduct from 2018-2020<\/p>\n The former employees also recalled multiple times when Barnum-Dann propositioned staff to have a \u201cthreesome\u201d with him and his wife. The alleged sexual misconduct occurred between 2018 and 2020 at Localis. A former employee also recalled sexual comments made at Betty in 2025.<\/p>\n State regulators that oversee sexual harassment and discrimination accusations in the workplace have not received any complaints against Localis, Betty or associated West Walking Rose LLC, according to a Public Records Act request filed by Abridged. The California Civil Rights Department said it does not generally release information about complaints against individuals to protect the privacy of both the accuser and accused. No former employees have sued Barnum-Dann, according to Sacramento County and Placer County Superior Court records. No one interviewed by Abridged said they filed a state sexual harassment complaint about Barnum-Dann\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n Celebrated chef plans expansion<\/p>\n Localis is one of Sacramento\u2019s two Michelin-starred restaurants, along with The Kitchen<\/a>. Barnum-Dann was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: California in 2022, and won the Michelin Guide\u2019s sommelier award last year, the only person in the state to receive the honor. With the planned expansion, he could be considered this generation\u2019s Randall Selland or the late Randy Paragary, acclaimed restaurateurs with regional reach.<\/p>\n Restaurant kitchens have seen a cultural reckoning in the past decade, and Barnum-Dann and his staff noted changes within Localis during that time. Yet he is the latest in a long line of chefs to be accused of unsavory behavior, from claims of sexual misconduct against Mario Batali<\/a> in 2017 to former Noma chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi\u2019s<\/a> alleged physical and emotional abuse detailed last month.<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann admits \u2018making mistakes,\u2019 but says sexual harassment allegations \u2018simply not true\u2019<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann denied the allegations of sexual harassment. In an emailed statement to Abridged, he said \u201cThese accusations are simply not true.\u201d<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann admitted to a \u201cfew instances\u201d where an employee confronted him about feeling uncomfortable, and said he dealt with the incidents with \u201cgenuine concern and correction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI admit making mistakes and apologize for contributing to a culture in our industry that is unhealthy and needs change. I\u2019m truly sorry for anyone whom I may have hurt. I\u2019ve learned a lot from my mistakes and am evolving to be better. A better chef, manager and person,\u201d Barnum-Dann wrote.<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann also denied accusations about compensation issues at his restaurants.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an earlier email interview, before he was asked to respond to specific accounts of alleged misconduct, Barnum-Dann described that before the pandemic his \u201cback was always against the wall.\u201d Work at Localis was \u201cdifficult and constantly changing\u201d and he was learning how to run a business and \u201cwhat it means to be the boss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNowadays, the kitchen is a very peaceful place,\u201d Barnum-Dann said.<\/p>\n Worker says she saw a \u2018sexualized workplace\u2019<\/p>\n Larrissa Liberko said she was hired as a server at Localis in 2018. She was early in her hospitality career, and she found herself heavily invested in the job\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n During her two-year tenure working at the restaurant, Liberko said, she experienced a \u201csexualized\u201d workplace, and recalled multiple times where Barnum-Dann propositioned his staff for sex, touched staff inappropriately and made comments about employees\u2019 bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very frequent that he would bring up threesomes with his wife,\u201d Liberko said. \u201cWe kind of just tried to laugh it off, or take it as a joke, mostly because his behavior could become very unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n Another time, she and her colleagues watched Barnum-Dann and his wife go into the connected garage at the restaurant and return \u201clooking flushed,\u201d Liberko recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cHe announced to staff, \u2018I just smashed,\u2019\u201d Liberko said.<\/p>\n A series of text messages sent in 2018 and reviewed by Abridged show Barnum-Dann repeatedly texted one of his employees to send nude photos of herself. The text messages also show Barnum-Dann after midnight asking a female employee to meet him in a storage area at the restaurant.<\/p>\n Frequent outbursts alleged<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann\u2019s outbursts were frequent at the restaurant, Liberko said, adding that she watched Barnum-Dann yell at a colleague until they cried. After, she heard him tell another staff member that he liked it when he could \u201cbreak someone.\u201d Multiple times, staff, including herself, would leave their shifts in tears.<\/p>\n \u201cOne time he screamed in my face words to the effect of \u2018I hate you, you are all greedy and I am going to go in there and strangle (coworker) until his eyes pop out of his head,’\u201d Liberko said.<\/p>\n Then, the aggressive comments would be followed by praise, she recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n Liberko said that during the same years that were filled with outbursts and sexual harassment, Barnum-Dann gave her opportunities and a title that boosted her career. He paid for her introductory sommelier training, she said. Liberko has gone on to lead the beverage programs at other upscale establishments in Sacramento.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt a sense of loyalty and connection at times,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of the patterns I learned in that environment were not healthy, and unlearning them has been an ongoing process for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor Lovelace said she was hired as a sous chef at Localis in October 2019. Lovelace only worked at Localis for five months and described her time there as \u201cvolatile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to say the wrong thing in fear of setting him off,\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n During a staff line-up, Barnum-Dann approached Lovelace, pushed her head downwards near a prep table and pressed himself against her, Lovelace said. The experience was humiliating, she said, and left her crying right before the start of dinner service.<\/p>\n During a different shift, she said Barnum-Dann grabbed her breast and made a comment about her needing a mammogram.<\/p>\n \u201cHe frequently made inappropriate comments to me, including asking if I found him attractive and propositioning me for sex,\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n When Lovelace declined his advances, Barnum-Dann would make her feel uncomfortable, like she was letting him down, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese experiences had a lasting impact on me. They affected my sense of safety at work, my confidence and my overall well-being, and ultimately contributed to my decision to leave (Localis),\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann denies sexual misconduct allegations<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann denied the allegations of sexual misconduct at Localis.<\/p>\n \u201cThe individuals who are accusing me of sexual harassment have been spreading these things and worse since our employer-employee relationships soured for various reasons years ago,\u201d Barnum-Dann said, in a written statement.<\/p>\n Others describe workplace conduct<\/p>\n Others, too, said they felt uncomfortable with Barnum-Dann\u2019s sexual conduct and commentary at his restaurants.\u00a0<\/p>\n Erick Avila was a cook at Localis for four months in 2019, and said he and Barnum-Dann\u2019s personalities clashed from the start. One day during that time, he saw a female employee sitting on a counter before service. Barnum-Dann walked up to her, spread her legs with his hands, wrapped them around his waist and pretended to \u201cviolently\u201d have sex with her on the counter, Avila said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis lasts at least five or six seconds, which is kind of a long time for something like that, and then he just walks away laughing like there\u2019s no problem,\u201d Avila said. \u201cAnd she didn\u2019t make a big issue about it. But we were all kind of looking at each other, like, \u2018what the f\u2014 just happened?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Zayn Skinner, a former Betty bartender, server and eventual front-of-house lead, recalled being with two other male employees when Barnum-Dann walked in and commented on a group of female customers.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was like, \u2018You three must be walking erections in here,\u2019\u201d said Skinner, now a bartender at Paragary\u2019s<\/a> in Midtown Sacramento. \u201cAnd we were just dead silent. Like, so f\u2014ing uncomfortable \u2026 It\u2019s so weird. It sets such a weird precedent in the workplace. I don\u2019t want to hear that from anyone, let alone someone who owns your restaurant and one other.\u201d<\/p>\n Racial slur allegedly directed at dishwasher<\/p>\n Lovelace recalled an instance when Barnum-Dann used a racial slur to describe a Black coworker at Localis.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe basically said the N-word, like with a hard \u2018R,\u2019 to our dishwasher who was Black,\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann tried to brush it off as a joke, but the staff was \u201csurprised and taken aback by that,\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n The dishwasher \u201cwas upset and we were all upset for him,\u201d Lovelace said.<\/p>\n In another instance, Avila said he watched Barnum-Dann yell \u201cget out of the street (w\u2013back)\u201d at a Puerto Rican employee outside Localis. Avila\u2019s coworker didn\u2019t seem to mind, he said, but a group of passersby took offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later, Barnum-Dann tried using the same slur toward Avila \u201cjokingly, like he thought it was funny,\u201d Avila said. Avila responded that he was mixed Black and white, not Hispanic. The next day, Avila said he and another Black employee arrived slightly late from opposite directions, to which Barnum-Dann sarcastically said, \u201csurprise, surprise, the Blacks are late.\u201d<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann\u2019s statement to Abridged did not directly address questions about his alleged use of racial slurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Withheld tips alleged<\/p>\n Skinner was already on staff at Betty when Barnum-Dann bought the Southside Park wine bar in November 2024. The new ownership\u2019s first meeting with staff set a tone for changes to come.<\/p>\n At that meeting, Barnum-Dann told staff their tips would be pooled and distributed at the end of every week instead of each night, Skinner said. He also told them that salaried managers would be tipped out as well, a potential violation of California Labor Code Section 351<\/a>.<\/p>\n That continued until November, when an employee threatened to report Barnum-Dann to the state Labor Commissioner\u2019s Office, Skinner said.<\/p>\n Barnum-Dann then sent out back compensation checks to staff, Skinner said, and at the next meeting, announced that managers would no longer receive tips \u2014 but all hourly workers would take a $2 per hour pay cut retroactive to the start of that pay period. It felt like \u201cretaliation for outing an illegal tipping practice,\u201d Skinner said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Betty\u2019s business exploded under Barnum-Dann\u2019s ownership, as a wine market was replaced by more seating and Localis-like dishes landed on the menu. Yet those weekly tip pools barely budged, Skinner said.<\/p>\n It mirrored a similar practice at Localis during 2019, Avila said. Instead of front-of-house staff splitting tips with back-of-house workers, all tips were turned in to Barnum-Dann, who then distributed them to all employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe money was never the money. The numbers were always off. The math was never mathing,\u201d Avila said.<\/p>\n Tips for group outings?<\/p>\n![\"Localis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Localis-exterior.png.webp.webp\")
Localis is one of Sacramento\u2019s two Michelin-starred restaurants. (PBS KVIE)<\/p>\n![\"Restaurant\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC06156-1024x638.jpg.webp.webp\")
Betty Wine Bar + Bistro at 1103 T St. in Sacramento. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n