WESTPORT — The owner of a Church Lane restaurant is facing charges after operating the business without workers’ compensation insurance, documents show.
The class D felony charges stem from a joint investigation by the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and state Department of Labor last year that found Sade was “operating the business without an active workers’ compensation insurance policy,” according to a warrant filed in state Superior Court in Stamford.
On Jan. 9, 2025, the warrant says Department of Labor agents spoke to six employees at the restaurant who indicated that they had been working there for several months. Sade was also present and provided payroll records showing he had been paying over 30 employees to work at the restaurant from June 25, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024, according to the warrant.
The warrant says investigators later found that Baxter & The Blondinit previously had a workers’ compensation insurance policy that was canceled by the insurer due to nonpayment of premium effective June 25, 2024.
The restaurant, which the warrant says obtained a new policy on Jan. 14, 2025, was also found to have failed to report employee wages to the Department of Labor before Jan. 9, 2025.
When investigators returned to Baxter & The Blondinit on May 21, 2026, the warrant says they found three employees working inside the restaurant along with Sade, who provided payroll records showing he had been paying more than 15 employees since March 26, 2026.
A check of insurance records, however, showed that the restaurant had again been operating without a workers’ compensation insurance policy. Sade’s arrest warrant says the records showed a policy had been canceled by the insurer on March 26, 2026, due to nonpayment.
Five days after investigators’ follow-up visit, the warrant says Baxter & The Blondinit obtained a new policy.
In addition to lacking workers’ compensation coverage during two separate periods between June 2024 and May 2026, the warrant says investigators found the restaurant had never registered as self-insured — an alternative way employers can meet the state’s workers’ compensation requirement.
The warrant says Sade blamed the lapses in coverage on his insurance broker and said he had canceled checks to support his claim. He did not ultimately provide the documentation and later told investigators that his lawyer would be “reaching out and taking care of everything,” according to the warrant.
Court records show Sade was released on a $10,000 bond following his Oct. 15 arrest and is scheduled to be arraigned at state Superior Court in Stamford on Oct. 29.
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