ATLANTA — Several local restaurants are coming to the aid of hundreds of employees who lost their jobs when 10 popular restaurants abruptly shut their doors.
Channel 2’s Craig Lucie went to a couple of the restaurants Tuesday afternoon, including one of their most popular, Noche, in Cobb County.
Lucie met three employees at another restaurant, Coast in Alpharetta, who told him they don’t know what they are going to do. They are looking for a job right now.
“It came out of nowhere. We found out through the grapevine,” said Matt Honeycutt who was a bartender at Coast.
Lucie met Matt Honeycutt, Shalon Bone and Lauren Galdanez where they were gainfully employed at Coast just 24 hours ago.
“For this to happen is really a big shock because we were not prepared for it,” said Bone.
Galdanez says she didn’t find out until late Monday night.
“I was heartbroken considering I’m a single mother, I’m pregnant and I was relying on that money,” said Galdanez.
Galdanez and her colleagues received an email Monday night from their general manager at Coast which says: “There is no easy way for me to say this, but with a very heavy heart and regret, I have to tell you that our company has closed its doors forever tonight."
No explanation was given and Here To Serve, which owns Coast and 9 other popular restaurants, just posted on it website that it apologizes for the inconvenience and it's working on reorganization.
“When Lucie walked up to the front doors of Coast, he saw this stack of cards left behind for the GM of the restaurant J. Alexanders. At the top of each card it said ‘Now Hiring!’"
Galdanez didn’t hesitate to call right in front of Lucie.
“I will be there today. I want to get ball rolling as soon as possible,” Galdanez told the manager over the phone.
It's one of multiple restaurants looking to help those displaced who worked the now empty tables. They created a Facebook page for multiple jobs listings.
Many are already using it to get hired.
“We were eating at one of the restaurants and within 20 minutes of getting our food, we found out entire company closed its operations,” said Honeycutt after they dined at Noche in Virginia Highlands.
Lucie called the company’s headquarters and no picked up. He also called the owners home and no one answered. We will let you know when they get back to us and have more information for their employees.
Tom Catherall, former owner and founder of Here To Serve, sent a statement Tuesday saying:
"I am humbled by the outpouring of concern I have received in light of the recent news of Here To Serve Restaurants' re-organization/temporary closures. Though I am no longer at the helm of the company, I left it in good hands with the over 1000 dedicated employees and the thousands of loyal Friends of Toms who were an integral part of its success.
"Atlanta was my choice to make my home and build my business due in part to the incredible restaurant industry and its dedicated work force. The support I have witnessed from this town to those employees who were caught by the surprise announcement from the new management and the patrons who have indicated a sense of loss to the city, confirms my belief that Atlanta has a great sense of pride and community."