A founding owner of UniTea House in Arcata, a recently closed business, is facing accusations of sexual assault in Humboldt County and a community reckoning in wellness circles he frequented further south.

Arcata’s UniTea House, which opened about a year ago and lasted about 10 months, was started by Jonathan Pinkston and two business partners, according to documents filed with the secretary of state.

It was a wellness-minded event space and tea lounge in Arcata, initially envisioned as a new location for Sonoma County’s Soft Medicine Sanctuary. But business owners had gradually moved away from Pinkston before it shut its doors, one partner said.

Reporting from the Press Democrat Thursday chronicled alleged financial coercion, emotional abuse and sexual abuse — according to a lengthy restraining order request filed in Humboldt County from Pinkston’s former business and romantic partner, Humboldt County resident Clairese Mayo, who additionally sought child custody.

In court documents Pinkston denies the allegations as fabricated, and denies allegations in a letter to employees of Soft Medicine Sanctuary in Sebastopol, reporting from the Democrat found.

Mayo accused Pinkston of sexual abuse between February and May 2025, and an alleged sexual assault in McKinleyville after breaking up. The court documents published by the Press Democrat additionally accuse him of forced entry and medical neglect while pregnant.

When reached by phone Friday, Mayo said the details from the restraining order request becoming a public matter has been uncomfortable and embarrassing. But she argued accountability is a way of caring for someone.

“Holding those closest to us accountable is a great way that we can show our love and invite possibility for change,” she said.

She said things started adding up after hearing others impacted by Pinkston. Regional social media pages have been populated with stories of alleged abuse in recent weeks.

“When I thought I was alone I was suffocating. When I discovered the truth everything made sense,” she said in a message to the Outpost.

The pair are currently finding a settlement in court, according to Mayo.

The Democrat also reported on business issues, including a partner seeking financial information through a lawsuit in Sonoma County. In a statement on social media last week, Soft Medicine Sanctuary said it had cut ties with Pinkston, and announced Saturday it would entirely close.

UniTea, located in Northtown Arcata, formed after Pinkston became interested in forming a kind of successor to “The Thing,” a since-closed event space on the Arcata Plaza that offered ecstatic dancing nights.

UniTea opened Feb. 1, 2025, and had closed by the end of November. While the three technically formed the business together, “he was rarely there at all,” said Will Wright, a founding owner who was running the business by the end. He said all local owners are standing in solidarity with victims.

In a court declaration supporting Mayo’s restraining order request, Wright pointed to “concerning behaviors” of Pinkston including lying, lacking transparency and spinning stories to paint himself in the best light.

UniTea, which peaked at three employees, was making efforts to reopen amid tough financial prospects.

“Had we reopened, it would not have been with Jonathan involved. We were in the process of separating,” said Wright. The business closed before these efforts were finalized, but he said they were aiming to turn UniTea into a fully local business.

He wanted to emphasize any money made at the location was not supporting Pinkston, and was rather used to keep UniTea running — though revenue never covered their expenses.

Mayo said the business was “a really beautiful vision,” but also a passion project where members didn’t make an income, and it hadn’t yet gotten off the ground by the end of the year.

Wright said he has hopes to offer a similar thing in the future; but for now, “we’re just wrapping everything up.”

A sexual assault lining up with the reported McKinleyville incident is being investigated by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, a spokesperson confirmed to the Democrat, but no charges have been filed in Humboldt County, according to court records. A spokesperson did not confirm the connection to Pinkston to the Lost Coast Outpost by publication time.

An email to Pinkston’s attorney seeking comment was not returned.

Mayo’s temporary restraining order was granted by Judge April Van Dyke on Dec. 1. Meanwhile, documents submitted by Pinkston seek an agreement to see the couple’s daughter, access to whom he said was unlawfully blocked.

The Sebastopol-based business has additional locations in San Francisco and Nevada County.

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Press Democrat coverage:

• Sebastopol business owner ousted after allegations of sexual assault, financial coercion surface