Noma L.A. pop-up loses key financial sponsors a day before opening

Key financial sponsors of Noma’s Los Angeles pop-up say they have withdrawn support from the 16-week dinner series slated to begin in Silver Lake on Wednesday.

The move follows reports from former staff who recounted physical, verbal and psychological abuse primarily executed by the restaurant’s co-founder and figurehead, celebrity chef René Redzepi.

Representatives for American Express, Resy and Blackbird confirmed Tuesday that the companies are no longer sponsors of the event. The withdrawal was first reported on Monday evening by Expedite, a newsletter that covers technology and the hospitality industry, which noted that Noma had removed mention of American Express from its website.

Representatives for Noma did not respond to a request for comment, but on Monday said that the pop-up series would continue.

On Saturday, the New York Times published an investigative report that detailed years of Redzepi’s alleged abusive behavior from 2009 to 2017, gathered from interviews with 35 of the restaurant’s former staff members. In recent weeks, former Noma fermentation-lab lead Jason Ignacio White has also posted accounts online of abuse sent by anonymous former staff, fueling social media anger at Redzepi and the elite restaurant.

White and worker-rights nonprofit One Fair Wage are planning protests, beginning Wednesday at the Silver Lake site before Noma L.A.’s first dinner service. The advocacy group and White are calling for wage increases in the hospitality industry, as well as further accountability regarding the allegations against Redzepi.

Redzepi could not be reached for comment but on Saturday posted a public apology, which is dividing the local restaurant industry.

Blackbird, a new loyalty-point dining platform, originally planned to host guests over four nights of Noma L.A.’s dinner seatings, reserving those nights for members of the restaurant industry. The company, which was also a sponsor of the series, canceled all of its seatings.

“Rene’s past practices, by his own admission, were unacceptable and abhorrent,” Blackbird founder and Chief Executive Ben Leventhal wrote in an email statement. “We cannot lean on time elapsed and rehabilitation claims when these things resurface. Regardless of context, this is highly problematic behavior. Our priority is the restaurant community of Los Angeles and our fight continues to be for them.”

Blackbird also offered ticket purchase for “5X” premium members.

Leventhal added that all proceeds from his platform’s ticket sales will be “donated to organizations advocating for hourly wage workers and hospitality industry professionals.”

He added: “There are many restaurant workers, small producers and purveyors who will be impacted by this situation. We would like to reduce further damage to the L.A.-based restaurant community and that will dictate how we act.”

American Express and bookings platform Resy had reserved multiple “card member nights” of Noma L.A. dinners, three of which sold out. The companies are offering refunds if guests of these bookings wish to cancel.

Noma L.A. still lists Cadillac “as the official vehicle of the residency.” Representatives for Cadillac could not immediately be reached for comment.