The Candlelight Cabinetry lawsuit picture is not a single case but a cluster: by early 2026, at least seven creditor suits seeking a combined $6.7 million had been filed against Candlelight Cabinetry OpCo LLC and owner Andrew Olsen as personal guarantor, roughly 150 workers had been furloughed with unpaid wages and missing 401(k) contributions, and the New York State Department of Labor had opened an investigation. The Lockport, New York factory’s assets were later sold through a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure to a new investor group that reopened the plant under the name Candlelight Curated Inc.1Buffalo Business First. Candlelight Cabinetry Creditor Lawsuits2WKBW. Local Investors to Reopen Candlelight Cabinetry in Lockport
Who Sued Candlelight Cabinetry and Why
The creditor filings began in late September 2025 and spread across courts in multiple New York counties and in Connecticut. Each suit alleged the company had stopped honoring a financial agreement, and each named Olsen individually as a guarantor alongside the corporate entity.3CNHI News. Concern for Candlelight Cabinetry Amid Furloughs, Lawsuits
Meged Funding Group Corp. filed first, on September 30, 2025, in Kings County Supreme Court. The complaint alleged Candlelight had breached a commercial agreement for the purchase of future receivables, stopping the required weekly payments on September 19, 2025, while continuing to operate. Meged sought $781,472.60, including a 25% default fee, plus interest and attorney’s fees. The case was dismissed following an order entered in May 2026.4UniCourt. Meged Funding Group Corp v. Candlelight Cabinetry Opco LLC
Swiss Fund LLC followed on October 24, 2025, in Fairfield County, Connecticut Superior Court, asserting breach of contract against the company and breach of guaranty against both Olsen and Cotton Bay LLC, Olsen’s holding company.5Trellis Law. Swiss Fund LLC v. Candlelight Cabinetry Opco LLC Between October 2025 and January 2026, Dependance Platinum FL LLC, En Od Capital, and Samson MCA LLC filed additional suits.4UniCourt. Meged Funding Group Corp v. Candlelight Cabinetry Opco LLC The original Haas Cabinet Co. also sued Haas Cabinet OpCo and Cotton Bay Building Products in January 2026 over a $1.6 million unpaid debt tied to an earlier acquisition attempt.3CNHI News. Concern for Candlelight Cabinetry Amid Furloughs, Lawsuits
Unpaid Wages, 401(k), and Health Benefits
On January 22, 2026, management informed workers in person that they were being furloughed and told them to file for unemployment. A small group kept on through January 26 reportedly did not receive their paychecks before being sent home. A second wave of furloughs on January 29 brought the total to roughly 150 of the facility’s 170 employees.6WKBW. Candlelight Cabinetry Workers in Lockport Furloughed7Yahoo Finance. 30 Candlelight Workers File Claims
Employees reported three separate problems. Net pay shown on their final pay stubs was never deposited. 401(k) contributions deducted from earlier paychecks had not been forwarded to the retirement plan. And health benefits had been inactive since at least November 2025.8Audacy/WBEN. Bologna, Ortt Call for Probe Into Candlelight Cabinetry
By mid-March, thirty former employees had filed formal unpaid-wage claims with the New York State Department of Labor. Workers were separately advised to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the missing 401(k) contributions.7Yahoo Finance. 30 Candlelight Workers File Claims3CNHI News. Concern for Candlelight Cabinetry Amid Furloughs, Lawsuits9WKBW. Update Expected Soon on Future of Candlelight Cabinetry
What Dealers and Customers Lost
The financial trouble reached the sales channel before it reached the public. Dealers reported unanswered phone calls, no order updates, and a canceled training webinar. One dealer said orders placed as early as September 2025 had gone through repeated delays, backorders, and quality problems, with delivery dates pushed back by months; that dealer canceled every order and moved customers to other brands.10Woodworking Network. Candlelight Cabinetry Facing Cash Troubles, Employees Furloughed
Angela Holloway, a lead designer and manager at Ashville Cabinets in Asheville, North Carolina, said she had paid Candlelight a $46,000 deposit for a customer order that never arrived. She received no cabinets, no updates, and no refund.11WKBW. Candlelight Cabinetry Workers Still Waiting on Final Paychecks One homeowner who canceled after the cabinets failed to arrive had held funds in escrow and did not lose the deposit itself, but had already paid out of pocket for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and structural work to prepare the site.10Woodworking Network. Candlelight Cabinetry Facing Cash Troubles, Employees Furloughed
City, county, and state legislators scheduled a meeting with company leadership to discuss the mounting complaints. No representatives from Candlelight Cabinetry attended.11WKBW. Candlelight Cabinetry Workers Still Waiting on Final Paychecks
Olsen’s Response and the Call for a State Investigation
Olsen described the shutdown as temporary throughout the winter. On January 26, 2026, he told a reporter that “no one has been laid off, and our facility is not closing,” calling the furloughs routine seasonal staffing adjustments.6WKBW. Candlelight Cabinetry Workers in Lockport Furloughed In early February he said employees would be back within “a week or two” while he finalized a “partnership to ensure long-term liability of the company.”10Woodworking Network. Candlelight Cabinetry Facing Cash Troubles, Employees Furloughed On February 11, he said the company was “very close to finalizing a significant realignment and re-capitalization” driven by “outside circumstances” that had created “significant cash-flow pressure.” Asked about unpaid wages, he said the company was “not at liberty to share employee pay records.” By March, he had largely stopped responding to press inquiries.9WKBW. Update Expected Soon on Future of Candlelight Cabinetry
State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and Assemblyman Paul Bologna formally asked Attorney General Letitia James and Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon to investigate. Ortt said it was “distressing to hear from employees… that they are struggling to receive the pay and benefits that they have worked for.”8Audacy/WBEN. Bologna, Ortt Call for Probe Into Candlelight Cabinetry
The UCC Foreclosure Sale and the Reopening
In May 2026, a new ownership group announced it had acquired all of the former Candlelight Cabinetry’s assets and equipment through a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure sale. The new entity, Candlelight Curated Inc., is a partnership between three local investors — Aaron Santarosa, Peter Demakos, and Jon Ebel — and Cuisine Idéale, a Sherbrooke, Quebec cabinetry manufacturer. Demakos serves as CEO.2WKBW. Local Investors to Reopen Candlelight Cabinetry in Lockport12Wood Industry. Cuisine Idéale Joins U.S. Restart of Candlelight Cabinetry as Candlelight Curated
The group committed roughly $11 million to renovate the 24 Michigan Street facility and install new manufacturing equipment. Empire State Development awarded the new company up to $2 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits tied to job creation, and the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency was considering nearly $1 million in additional tax breaks and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes package. Governor Kathy Hochul’s office described the previous management’s “ongoing operational and lender disputes” as having “forced operations to halt, stranding unfulfilled vendor orders.”13Empire State Development. Governor Hochul Announces Re-Opening of Lockport Cabinet Factory14Governor of New York. Governor Hochul Announces Re-Opening of Lockport Cabinet Factory Candlelight Curated said it expected to begin hiring and taking new orders within weeks, with a goal of restoring 100 manufacturing jobs.15BTPM. Candlelight Cabinetry to Reopen With New Name, Owners
The purchase was of assets through a UCC foreclosure, not a purchase of the old company. Customer deposits, dealer refunds, unpaid paychecks, and 401(k) shortfalls owed by Candlelight Cabinetry OpCo LLC are claims against the prior entity and its owner, not obligations of Candlelight Curated.
Where the Wage and Benefit Claims Stand
As of mid-May 2026, the state Labor Department’s investigation into the prior management’s handling of wages and benefits remained open. Senator Ortt said he expected former employees to be “made whole” for their missing paychecks and benefits.2WKBW. Local Investors to Reopen Candlelight Cabinetry in Lockport Olsen had not responded to press inquiries on the wage claims as of March 2026.7Yahoo Finance. 30 Candlelight Workers File Claims
Former employees with unpaid wages can file a claim with the New York State Department of Labor. Workers whose 401(k) contributions were deducted but never deposited were advised to file a separate complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees retirement plan compliance. Dealers and customers holding unfulfilled orders against the former company are in the position of unsecured creditors and would need to pursue their claims against Candlelight Cabinetry OpCo LLC and, where a personal guaranty applies, against Olsen.