Boutique dessert chain Sucre announced the immediate closure of all of its New Orleans stores on Facebook Monday morning (June 17). The company’s shutdown comes six months after NOLA.com reported that co-founder Tariq Hanna’s resignation last summer followed internal allegations of his sexual misconduct.
The short, vague announcement said that over the past year, “our executive team has operated in a responsible manner” and “has attempted to bring the company to financial profitability,” implying it was unable to do so. The 13-year old company opened its first shop on Magazine Street in 2007 and later expanded to Metairie and the French Quarter. The French Quarter shop also became the location of its first restaurant, Salon by Sucre, in 2015.
Tariq Hanna stepped down from the company he helped start last August. A December 2018 NOLA.com report revealed that the resignation was preceded by internal complaints alleging Hanna’s sexual harassment and a sexually exploitative workplace culture. Interviews with 20 of Hanna’s friends and colleagues painted the picture of a chef who “habitually mixed professional mentorship with sex; hosted topless pool parties at his Uptown home and encouraged female employees he managed to attend; and caused people to feel he would retaliate against those he suspected of exposing his activity to others.”
As of last summer, Sucre had roughly 80 employees on the payroll. Eater has reached out to the company for further information and will update if we hear back.
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