A controversial Cardiff businessman's swanky new wine bar has opened amid criticism from ex-staff who claim they are owed thousands in unpaid wages. A few days ago Adam Pledger opened Wine Republic in Rhiwbina — but former employees have launched a petition calling for customers to stay away until the alleged debts are paid.
Adam Pledger, 45, is well-known from his time running Park House, an award-winning Cardiff city-centre restaurant which went bust in March. Seven recent staff members claim the restaurant owes them a total of £10,500 in wages and that Mr Pledger has blocked their messages for months. We also recently reported on former employees' allegations of bullying, tax discrepancies, chaotic negotiations with suppliers, and gruelling shifts rewarded with unreliable pay.
Mr Pledger owns a company called Wine Republic, which began as an online merchant in 2020 but has now opened as a wine shop and bar at 6C Heol-Y-Deri in Rhiwbina, which was previously home to a furniture store. A group of staff, who claim their Park House wages were paid by a Wine Republic account, have started an online petition with the message: "Our [former] employer, Adam Thomas Pledger, has been ignoring us for months and withholding our wages. This is not just about money; it's about respect and dignity... We understand that businesses can face financial difficulties but keeping silent and refusing to address this issue is unacceptable."
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When WalesOnline visited the wine bar on Wednesday afternoon, the plush premises displayed hundreds of bottles of wine alongside velvet seating and exposed brickwork. Mr Pledger refused to comment on the boycott and ordered our reporter to leave. It comes after he blanked our questions following a Cardiff council licensing meeting in which the wine bar was granted an alcohol licence. You can watch our reporter challenge Mr Pledger on the allegations in this footage.
Former employees are calling for people to support their "fight for justice" by signing the petition and boycotting Wine Republic — which prices cases of wine at up to £310 — until the alleged debts are paid. In a statement to WalesOnline they said: "We have struggled terribly for months with the loss of our wages and no jobs. We worked relentlessly for him and his business. Many of us have been on anti-depressants due to the fact we couldn’t afford to live. He disappears... then opens a fancy wine bar in the same city. It’s an insult to Cardiff."
Records show that nine employment tribunals since 2019 have found that Park House owed wages. Across those cases Mr Pledger's business was ordered to pay a total of £23,568. One of those who was successful in court, former head chef Gordon Jones, alleged earlier this year that Mr Pledger had still not paid the £6,119 he was owed, more than two years after a judge ordered him to do so. Other former staff alleged that the restaurant had made tax deductions from wages without passing them on to HMRC. We have put these claims to Mr Pledger but he has not responded.
The controversies surrounding Mr Pledger were not discussed during the licensing meeting. Cardiff council said the committee was only allowed to consider issues which are covered by guidance under the Licensing Act. After the premises licence was approved, Zoe Lazenby, a former head waitress at Park House who claims she is still waiting for her final monthly wages of £1,350, spoke out against the new venture. The 24-year-old said: "It’s hard to put into words how I feel. I don’t understand how someone could have the audacity to do something like this. I don’t know how he’s not crippled with embarrassment and guilt."
Grady Atkins, an acclaimed chef who has worked in Cardiff restaurants like Bacareto, was head chef at Park House in 2011. He told WalesOnline he is backing the petition because Mr Pledger "should be held accountable" for his actions, adding: "He has a long history of not paying staff, suppliers and the taxman correctly."
Mr Atkins previously said he left Park House after learning of an alleged pay dispute with suppliers. "The suppliers said they only kept coming back because they were told they wouldn't get a penny if they left," said Mr Atkins. After the chef handed in his notice, Mr Pledger allegedly made a false accusation that he had stolen property from Park House. Mr Atkins, who felt this was "an excuse to withhold wages", went to an employment tribunal, which found the restaurant owed him £3,645 in wages and notice pay.
Mr Pledger launched Park House in 2005 in a Grade-I listed oak-panelled Park Place mansion designed by famous Victorian architect William Burges. The restaurant told us in April: "We are one of the 13,000 hospitality businesses that have closed since Covid. And it is with great sadness that Covid coupled with the cost-of-living crisis meant the business became unsustainable. We are working hard to minimise the distress caused to all stakeholders."
When we first reported on allegations of a "toxic" culture and "exhausting" work conditions, Park House said it could not comment on individual cases but "refuted the contents of this article". Since then, our requests for comment have been ignored.
