SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — Dozens of employees at a Spring Hill Beef-A-Roo say they have not been paid in nearly a month, and former managers say they are caught in the middle as corporate appears to be closing up shop.
"We haven't been paid in a month and I've got my employees who are losing homes. They can't pay for their rent or their utilities," manager David Brown said.
"I'm two car notes behind on my car right now because of it," cashier Chat Kitterall said.
The first red flag Brown and his employees saw was a missed paycheck on June 11.
"When payday was on Friday and then they moved it to Monday. I was like, 'Oh, something's going on,'" Kitterall said.
"It was supposed to be paid on the 11th, so we haven't been paid for hours worked since June 7th," Brown said.
Employees kept showing up for work, but when deposits kept getting delayed, Brown made the decision to close.
"There's a lot of answers we need we're not getting," Brown said.
Signs on the front door of the restaurant tell the story of the back and forth between management and corporate:
- On June 25, Beef-A-Roo emailed managers blaming another company for failing to fulfill payroll and announced an ownership change.
- On July 2, the company announced all locations would temporarily close.
- On July 7, the company announced a company-wide layoff.
Brown says through all of that, workers still have not been paid.
"Corporate didn't make it a priority to understand how it's affecting my staff and the lives of my employees," Brown said.
Brown says his 15 employees combined are owed more than $20,000 in wages.
"All of my staff members, they all work hard or all like family here and I would do anything to help them get paid and that's where we are today," Brown said.
"We got some Spring Hill customers rally around us, too, so they're behind us on that," Kitterall said.
Despite the lack of answers and closed doors, the bond between workers appears to have only grown stronger.
"I miss this ragtag group. We're like a family here," Shift Manager Addison Brown said.
The situation is playing out at nearly every Beef-A-Roo location across the country.
Brown says workers have filed wage complaints with the state, but that process could take another month, and Beef-A-Roo corporate would need to respond. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development says it cannot guarantee a worker will be paid their owed wages.
Brown says the group may consider pursuing legal action.
I reached out to Beef-A-Roo corporate and the new ownership company but did not hear back in time for this report.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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