The former employee contacted SanDiegoVille after quitting Timestead on Friday, August 28, and alleges their paycheck dated that day could not be cashed. The worker says it was the third recent payroll period in which employees experienced problems obtaining their wages.
SanDiegoVille reviewed a photograph of the August 28 paycheck, which identifies HP Modern Local LLC as the company issuing the payment. The employee says an attempt to cash the check was unsuccessful and intends to obtain additional documentation from the bank concerning the transaction. They also allegedly attempted to cash the check on Monday, August 30, and were denied.
The employee also provided documentation confirming that the California Labor Commissioner's Office received a wage claim against "Timestead by Modern Times" on August 29 and assigned the matter to its San Diego Wage Claim Adjudication office. Filing a wage claim does not establish that the allegations are true, and SanDiegoVille has not seen any determination by the Labor Commissioner's Office.
The source also provided screenshots of conversations discussing alleged payroll problems affecting multiple Timestead workers across different pay periods.
"Every week someone's check bounces," one participant wrote in a conversation reviewed by SanDiegoVille.
SanDiegoVille is withholding identifying details about the people participating in those conversations because some remain employed at Timestead and have expressed concern about potential workplace repercussions. The publication has not independently verified every payroll incident discussed in the messages, but the communications indicate concerns extended beyond the former employee's August 28 paycheck.
The former employee alleges that during an earlier payroll period, checks issued to numerous workers could not initially be cashed. The source says their own check successfully cleared during that episode and alleges additional money was subsequently provided to address payroll issues.
During another pay period, the employee alleges workers received checks dated for their regular Friday payday but were instructed not to cash them until the following Monday. Several subsequent pay periods apparently passed without problems before the latest alleged issue on August 28.
The employee further alleges that after quitting and returning to Timestead seeking a resolution to the payroll dispute, management called San Diego Police when the worker refused to leave. Communications reviewed by SanDiegoVille indicate others associated with Timestead were aware of the confrontation, although SanDiegoVille has not independently verified the circumstances surrounding the police response.
The allegations come during a significant ownership and financial transition at the 12,400-square-foot downtown restaurant, bar and brewery at 1065 Fourth Avenue. San Diego Beer News reported in July that restaurant-industry veteran and aspiring brewer Rhett Terrebonne had acquired a majority interest in Timestead after initially approaching hospitality executive Duncan Ward about using the dormant former Resident Brewing production facility inside the property to launch an independent brewery.
Ward has now told SanDiegoVille that the transfer of responsibility actually began earlier.
"In early June, operational and financial responsibility for Timestead passed to Rhett, with the understanding he would put in substantial capital to pay down outstanding debts and reopen the brewery," Ward told SanDiegoVille.
Ward said he has not participated in Timestead's operations since then.
"I've had no involvement in the day-to-day running of the business since then, and have no access to its accounts," Ward said.
Ward declined to address the payroll allegations or wage claim, saying Terrebonne would be better positioned to answer questions concerning the business since June.
"I can't speak to the specifics of payroll or the wage claim you've mentioned - I'd only be speculating, and given it's an active matter, I don't think that would be fair to anyone involved," Ward said.
Ward's account establishes that Timestead had outstanding debts when Terrebonne assumed financial responsibility and that the transition contemplated a substantial capital investment. It does not establish that those debts involved employee wages or that they caused any of the alleged payroll problems.
Newly reviewed California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records provide another glimpse into the transition and leave questions about exactly how Timestead's change in ownership has been structured. ABC's September 1 records identify HP Modern Local LLC as the licensee for "Modern Times Pub" at 1065 Fourth Avenue. That is the same company identified on the August 28 paycheck reviewed by SanDiegoVille.
Despite Terrebonne's reported acquisition of a majority interest and Ward's statement that Terrebonne assumed operational and financial responsibility in June, ABC's current record continues to identify Ward as both a member and manager of HP Modern Local LLC.
The venue's permanent Type 47 On-Sale General Eating Place license has also remained pending since October 2025. Instead, the establishment has operated through a succession of temporary alcohol permits, with its newest four-month permit taking effect August 27 — one day before the paycheck at the center of the former employee's wage claim — and continuing through December 24.
ABC records also list three holds associated with the pending license: a Form 220 hold dated October 30, 2025, a Board of Equalization hold dated January 29, 2026, and a Franchise Tax hold dated February 19, 2026.
The records provided to SanDiegoVille do not explain the underlying circumstances or amounts associated with those holds. Their existence does not establish a connection to the alleged payroll problems, and ABC reports no active disciplinary action or disciplinary history against the license.
The records do, however, leave unresolved how Terrebonne's reported majority acquisition was structured. HP Modern Local LLC remains the company issuing payroll and holding the alcohol license, while ABC continues to identify Ward as a member and manager even though Ward says he has had no operational or financial involvement in Timestead since early June.
Timestead's relationship with Modern Times adds another wrinkle. The venue continues operating publicly as Timestead by Modern Times, but the Modern Times business that once combined beer production, coffee and hospitality operations has been broken apart following years of expansion, financial difficulties and ownership changes.
Maui Brewing Company's parent company, Craft 'Ohana, acquired Modern Times for approximately $15.3 million in 2022 before later divesting. Wings & Arrow now owns the Modern Times beer business and intellectual property, while other businesses using the Modern Times identity have operated through separate ownership and licensing arrangements.
When Modern Times' Far West Lounge abruptly closed in Encinitas earlier this summer, Wings & Arrow CEO Wes Van De Vort told SanDiegoVille that his company had little involvement in the hospitality businesses then using the brand.
"Essentially we had very little to do with the existing tasting rooms besides supplying them with beer," Van De Vort said.
Asked specifically about Timestead at the time, Van De Vort said, "That's on a separate license. You would need to reach out to Duncan for his plans with Timestead."
Terrebonne, meanwhile, is developing his own independent brewery, Makali'i Brewing, using the production facility inside Timestead.
"In layman's terms, Makali'i means 'new beginning,'" Terrebonne told San Diego Beer News in July. "It will not be Modern Times or Niuhi."
That leaves Timestead in an unusual position: it continues operating under the Modern Times name and serving Modern Times products, while its new majority owner is simultaneously developing an unrelated brewery inside the property.
SanDiegoVille contacted Terrebonne seeking comment on the payroll allegations and asking how many employees or pay periods have been affected, whether all workers have since received their wages and whether additional capital was required to address an earlier payroll shortfall.
Terrebonne was also asked to clarify his current ownership interest in Timestead and HP Modern Local LLC, why ABC records continue to identify Ward as a member and manager, why the permanent Type 47 liquor license remains pending and the circumstances surrounding the three holds appearing on the license record.
Wings & Arrow CEO Van De Vort was separately asked to clarify what relationship his company currently has with Timestead and whether that relationship is limited to licensing the Modern Times name and supplying products.
As of publication, Terrebonne and Van De Vort had not responded to SanDiegoVille's latest requests for comment.
The former employee's allegations remain unproven, and the Labor Commissioner's Office has not issued a determination on the wage claim. But documents reviewed by SanDiegoVille establish that HP Modern Local LLC issued the disputed August 28 paycheck, remains the licensee for Timestead's alcohol operation and is operating under another temporary permit while its permanent license remains pending.
Meanwhile, Ward acknowledges Timestead had outstanding debts when Terrebonne assumed operational and financial responsibility in June, but says he has had no involvement in the business or access to its accounts since then. State ABC records nevertheless continue to identify him as a member and manager of the company behind Timestead's payroll and liquor license.
SanDiegoVille will update this story if Terrebonne or Wings & Arrow responds or additional information becomes available.
Timestead is located at 1065 Fourth Avenue in downtown San Diego. For more information, visit timesteadpub.com.
Originally published on September 1, 2026.
