Catching up: Secret Sandwich owners moving towards a summer trial
Name: Secret Sandwich Society
Why you know it: The popular sandwich and cocktails spot at the corner of East Grace and North 5th streets suddenly entered the spotlight this February when the brand’s founders posted a notice on the restaurant’s Instagram account saying they had terminated the license for the Richmond location.
Sarah Vogelsong
The business has continued operating ever since, except for a brief closure this October when state tax officials padlocked its door due to unpaid taxes.
What's happening now
“It’s complicated” might be an understatement.
For more than a year, David and Tashia Bailey — Secret Sandwich Society’s founders and the continued owners of the brand — have been locked in messy legal disputes with Michael and Nicole Sloane, the operators of the Richmond location who bought a 70% stake in it in 2022.
It would take more than 1,000 words to unravel all of the disagreements, but essentially the Baileys say that the Sloanes violated their licensing agreement by failing to pay required royalties, withholding weekly sales data and using the wrong buns for burgers.
The Sloanes, in turn, say the Baileys are trying to force them out and have taken royalty fees greater than what they were entitled to.
Both sides have denied the other’s allegations. Court filings indicate no resolution is in sight, with a five-day jury trial scheduled for August 2026.
In the latest development, a judge this December declared the Sloanes to be in civil contempt of court after the pair failed to meet the latest deadline to pay a series of overdue monthly payments to the Baileys as part of their 2022 sale agreement. Now, the parties are quarreling over what sanctions the court ought to impose on the Sloanes.
Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org
