California Steakhouse Employees Left Devastated After Sudden Closure
Workers at Tahoe Joe's in Visalia learned of the restaurant's abrupt shutdown on Monday, with many citing a lack of notice and financial hardship.
Employees at the Visalia, California, location of Tahoe Joe's Famous Steakhouse were blindsided Monday by the restaurant's sudden closure, leaving over 30 people unemployed.
Crystal Ervin, a bartender at the steakhouse for 15 years and a single mother of two, discovered the closure when she arrived for her morning shift. She had missed an earlier email notification about the shutdown.
"I was shocked. I was shocked. I felt betrayed. And to be honest, I felt hurt," Ervin told YourCentralValley. "I felt like we just did not matter, you know, ever or at all… We had been in there so long just to be tossed like rags, you know, with nobody having any direction to go."
Ervin expressed concern about her financial stability, especially after recently purchasing a home. "It was pretty devastating. I’m a single mom. I have two kids. I just bought a home about two months ago. And so to be left high and dry like that was, was pretty, it’s still detrimental," she said.
According to a regional director, the restaurant’s closure was attributed to its failure to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected numerous businesses nationwide.
Ervin hopes that California employment laws will be updated to mandate more advance notice for employees facing layoffs. "I feel like if they could have given employers two weeks, heck, even one week, it gets them a jump start on getting an unemployment [claim] filled," she stated. "It gives them a jump on starting to find another job before they’re just left out on the street without anything."
The closure of the Visalia location reduces Tahoe Joe's Famous Steakhouse to two remaining restaurants: one in Fresno and another in Bakersfield. The chain, known for its charbroiled steaks and lodge-like atmosphere, has seen several locations close or be acquired in recent years, with the original Fresno restaurant shutting down in 2016.
Ervin shared on social media that she currently holds a part-time job but is actively seeking full-time employment. "I’m devastated to know this kind of pain, fear, uncertainty, especially as a single mama doing my best for my kiddos," she wrote.