‘Protest to get paid’: Almond Nail Bar employees keep up pressure

Almond Nail Bar staff protested unpaid wages for a second day on Thursday — months after the company was ordered to pay its creditors.

Later in the day, Almond Nail Bar leadership said most affected employees had received their paycheques.

“Everybody is feeling like they have to protest to get paid,” Harjeet Cheema, a former Almond nail technician, said around noon Thursday. “I don’t think this is the law of Canada.”

Cheema, 28, stood outside the chain’s 166 Meadowood Dr. location in Winnipeg. Around eight other staff joined her, holding signs alleging the company has exploited foreign workers.

Staff at Almond Nail Bar’s Meadowood, CF Polo Park and Niverville locations hadn’t been paid for the last three pay cycles — or, for roughly 1.5 to two months, the company’s co-founder confirmed Wednesday.

Several staff protesting Thursday said they were foreign workers and students. They’d been promised paycheques on Halloween, but those didn’t come, they said.

Cheema said she and a handful of staff were given their wages after they began protesting inside CF Polo Park on Wednesday.

Most of the affected staff had been paid up to date as of Thursday afternoon, co-founder Thomas Nguyen wrote in a statement.

Protesting workers estimate 30 people were affected. Nguyen never provided a number.

“Resolving this situation has been our immediate priority,” he wrote.

“I sincerely apologize to our employees and their families for the hardship and uncertainty these delays have caused.”

Nguyen is listed as the director and main shareholder behind the company paying Almond Nail Bar’s Meadowood, CF Polo Park and Niverville employees.

The Free Press reviewed workers’ pay stubs.

On Wednesday, however, Nguyen pointed to an unnamed franchisee for the Manitoba workers’ lack of pay. The chain has grown to 16 Manitoba stores, and two in British Columbia, on a franchise model.

On Thursday, Nguyen said he took “responsibility for addressing these challenges.”

He blamed financial and operational challenges for the pay delay. “They do not excuse delayed wages, and we recognize that we must do better,” he wrote.

The company’s next priority is to evaluate operations, strengthen financial oversight and “make the necessary changes” to build a more sustainable business, Nguyen said.

He is named alongside Almond Franchise Canada Corp. and Almond Franchising in a handful of recent lawsuits.

In two Manitoba cases, the Bank of Nova Scotia received notices of garnishment to pay Almond’s creditors.

Sumandeep Kaur Bahia was to receive $55,244 after allegedly paying an initial franchise fee and not getting a refund. Bahia’s statement says Almond withdrew its proposal for a location “without valid reason.”

When Bahia requested payback in August 2025, Almond said the fee was non-refundable, which went against the initial agreement and the law, the claim says.

Almond didn’t file a statement of defence. A notice of garnishment to the bank was signed June 24, 2026.

The Bank of Nova Scotia was ordered to pay Brumii Inc. $77,707 in June, after Almond allegedly didn’t cover gift card payments it promised it’d pay. Brumii was operating as an Almond Nail Bar-branded company and honouring gift cards sold by Nguyen’s company, but it didn’t receive real payment for the transactions happening between 2019 and 2023, according to Brumii’s statement of claim.

Again, Almond didn’t have a statement of defence. A default judgement was filed April 28, 2026. The initial statement of claim came in June 2025.

Wan Yen Tan, the lawyer representing both creditors, didn’t respond to interview requests by end of day Thursday.

Nguyen didn’t directly address any lawsuits in his statement, when asked.

Almond Franchising was hit with a couple small claims lawsuits in Manitoba in 2025 and 2026, and another civil suit in 2023. It’s the defendant of suits in the Vancouver Law Courts and Robson Square Provincial Court.

A former franchisee told the Free Press their location wasn’t profitable at times. Revenue didn’t keep up with operating costs, including rent and the products used, they said.

Workers protesting at Almond Nail Bar’s Meadowood location said they weren’t aware of the lawsuits. They filed claims to the provincial government’s Employment Standards branch.

They’re wanting their full pay and records of employment so they can apply for employment insurance and compensation for lost days of work, they said.

The Meadowood location temporarily closed Thursday. Almond Nail Bar in CF Polo Park and Niverville temporarily shuttered Wednesday and Oct. 31, respectively.

Employers must pay staff at least twice per month in Manitoba. The only legal process to remedy unpaid wages is to complain to Employment Standards, said David Camfield, a University of Manitoba labour studies professor.

“Non-payment of wages, it is a real problem,” Camfield said. “There’s not enough resources put into enforcement.”

Employment Standards is investigating claims against Almond Nail Bar’s CF Polo Park and Meadowood locations, a provincial government spokesperson said. The branch doesn’t comment on active investigations, they added.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com