HAGERSTOWN, MD - There's outrage from employees and even customers of a Hagerstown restaurant that recently went out of business. Employees claim they haven't been paid, and patrons say the business closed without honoring their gift cards. Shelly Roman, a former waitress at C & J's Road House Grill in Hagerstown is one of about eight employees claiming they were never paid for their last two weeks of work before the restaurant closed for good on March 12th.
"He said he would be closing the doors because he was putting in a new air conditioning system, and since he wasn't going to be here, we called to verify that he had the right address to mail to us. The checks still haven't come," says Roman.
And when they went to check on their money, they found the place had closed with no sign on the door, and no sign of their boss.
Walter Johnson only worked at C & J's for a week. Now, aside from being out of a job, he hasn't seen one dime of the nearly $300 he made as a short order cook there.
"I was here every day on time. Personally, I thought 'Bam, I got myself a job' and then all of sudden 'Bam, you're out in the cold again'," says Johnson.
The owner of did not want to be interviewed on camera, and gave NBC25 no explanation as to why the checks are running so late. But he did say they'd all be paid within the week.
In a statement, Jack Francisco claims to be mailing out the paychecks by the end of this week, saying if "that's employees' concern, then it's a non-concern."
Another thing he couldn't explain was what customers should do with their unredeemed gift cards.
"$40 for me, $40 for my sister-in-law and $40 for my brother -- that was a lot of money that would not be put to good use. I felt like he was taking advantage of me," says customer Amy Rand.
And the real clincher they say, is the fact that C & J's plans to open another location at the Hagerstown Cinema 10 on Leitersburg Pike this summer.
"It's just the simple fact that they went out of business over there and opened a business at another location, and didn't inform anybody," says Rand.
Several former employees have already filed lawsuits against C & J's regarding their paychecks. As far as the unused gift cards go, Francisco tells NBC25 he will issue another statement Wednesday on what can be done to redeem them.
In the meantime, you can always call the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General's Office to file a complaint. Their number is (301) 791-4780.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now it takes a pretty cold hearted person, to close a business with no warning. And not to pay his employee. What this the case of take the money and run. I feel for the employee's who are counting on getting their pay. If the person don't pay, charges should be bought against that person. Sound like this person is running from something.