'You've Got Mail' Café Named In $26M Harassment Lawsuit
Café Lalo, the Upper West Side café made famous in the classic romantic comedy You've Got Mail, has been named in a $26 million lawsuit filed by thirteen of its former female servers, reports The New York Post.
In the suit, ex-employees allege that owner Haim Lalo did not provide fair wages, and Lalo's manager Daniel Reyes created a hostile work environment and used the restaurant as "his own personal dating service and a place where he could indulge in his unwholesome desires."
Reyes is further accused of rearranging employees' work schedules to get them alone and verbally attacking women "after they routinely rejected his advances and even [threatening] one of them with a knife, according to The New York Post.
The former servers, most of whom were reportedly only employed at Café Lalo within the last year, are seeking $2 million each in damages.
A lawyer for Café Lalo told The New York Post that there was "no merit" to the claims.
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Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.