Funding promised, but no arrival date
Marvin estimated that about 81% of employees had received all their pay, though he did not supply a precise total for the remaining shortfall. Asked if the business could cover that amount that day, he said: "We do not. We will though."
He said partners and investors would contribute more money but offered no firm date for its arrival. "We're discussing that right this minute, literally," he said when asked about the timing.
Echo & Rig's three restaurants are in Nevada and California. The original opened at Tivoli Village in Summerlin, Las Vegas, in 2013; the Sacramento restaurant opened in the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in 2018; and the Henderson location opened at The District at Green Valley Ranch in February 2023.
Workers' accounts and wage complaints
For Isaiah Colbert, a former serving assistant in Henderson, payroll problems began shortly after he joined the restaurant late last year. He described a cycle in which a replacement check cleared, only for payment problems to recur.
"And my check wasn't going through, so I was like, OK, they wrote me a new check, it ended up going through and then it just kept happening and happening and happening," Colbert told Channel 13.
He showed the station notices that he said documented two returned payroll checks: $410 dated Sept. 23 and $264 dated Oct. 13. Colbert estimated his unpaid wages and tips totaled roughly $1,500 to $2,000, but said he still needed to reconcile his records. He hoped the restaurant would recover so workers could get their money.
Records the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner supplied to Channel 13 contain eight wage claims and three employment complaints entered from Aug. 1, 2025, through Oct. 7, 2026. The filings concern the Henderson and Tivoli Village restaurants and allege missing wages, late tips, bounced checks and problems obtaining payroll records.
A January claim from a Tivoli Village worker alleged that some hours went unpaid, a check bounced and wages arrived late. An October Henderson claim described "delayed tips and wages, bounced checks." In another October filing, a former Tivoli Village general manager requested $3,541.69 for final wages and reimbursement for restaurant supplies.
Those filings record allegations, not rulings that violations occurred. They also do not establish whether every amount claimed was still outstanding.
State office says federal investigation has begun
Deputy Labor Commissioner Malia Tatom said her office sent the Echo & Rig complaints to the U.S. Department of Labor for investigation. In a Wednesday email to Channel 13, she said federal officials had confirmed that the investigation was processed and initiated that morning.
"I have confirmed with the DOL that the investigation has now been processed and initiated," Tatom wrote.
The department's Wage and Hour Division, responding separately to the station, said it does not confirm investigations. Channel 13 received no findings. Marvin said he was in contact with federal officials and was showing them that payments were reaching employees.
Henderson losses and higher food costs
Marvin attributed the company's financial strain to losses in Henderson, saying the restaurant had needed support from the other two locations for about a year to a year and a half. He also cited wholesale meat prices that he said were about 25% above their level a year earlier.
He had described broader cost pressures in a May 2026 interview with the CUNY journalism project Dismal Science. At that time, he said food costs had risen 32% and margins at Echo & Rig had dropped to roughly 4%, compared with free cash flow of about 13–14% a couple of years before.
Asked why employees continued to work without timely pay, Marvin said he had always intended to pay them. He said workers were asked to wait and, in some instances, offered partial payments as the company tried to catch up. Meanwhile, he said, some business money went to rent, food and employee health insurance.
The company was considering changes in Henderson, Marvin said. If those changes did not stop the losses, he said it would close that restaurant.
He gave a different explanation for a temporary closure at Tivoli Village: a water leak and repairs. During a Thursday walk-through, Marvin pointed out areas he said had needed work because of water damage. The restaurant was serving lunch at the time. He rejected speculation linking that closure to the payroll problems.
Separate state debt remains distinct from wage claims
Court records show that a March judgment ordered Echo and Rig Las Vegas 1 LLC, listed at the Tivoli Village address, to pay $64,458.72 plus additional interest. That debt involves unpaid contributions to state employment funds and related charges, rather than a finding that employee wages were unpaid.
Marvin said the company had arranged monthly payments and was making them. When asked for proof, he said he could provide it. The court records Channel 13 reviewed did not resolve whether the judgment had since been paid in full; a June order statistically closing the case did not say the debt had been satisfied.
On employee pay, Marvin said his six-week commitment applied to both current and former workers. "No matter what, on record, every employee we have will get their entire pay," he said.
Channel 13 plans to check back with employees and seek payment documentation to determine whether they receive what they are owed.
