Employees like Harry Alicia, a former line cook at Gringos Locos, said he's struggling to pay bills after not being paid the remaining few hundred dollars owed to him prior to the restaurant's closure earlier this summer. He's one of dozens of employees still waiting for money almost three weeks after one of the restaurant's owners committed to liquidating company assets to meet payroll.
"The good news is that the companies do have assets that will be liquidated, and I am actively working to offload the larger items to cover the balance of last week's payroll," wrote Phil O'Biso to employees in an email Channel 9 obtained. "I hope and believe it to be a realistic expectation to be able to have everyone paid before the end of next week."
Three weeks later, Harry Alicia said he's still waiting for the other 75% of his last paycheck. He said many employees are frustrated because they received less than 24 hours' notice that the company was shutting down, which led some to miss their final shift.
"This has been like a whole big mess, really," Alicia said. "…Things have been like pretty rough with Gringo's getting shut down. Groceries going up, rent's going up, electricity going, a lot of things are going up you know."
Gringos Locos closure comes as the company's owners have spent the last three years engaged in various legal disputes. According to court records, Jeremy and Angela Clark accused Phil O'Biso of falsifying accounting records and paying family members exorbitant salaries. However, O'Biso is suing the Clarks for failing to share critical company information and making unauthorized payments.
Kemp Brinson, who is Phil O'Biso's attorney, said these disputes between partners led to Gringos Locos' closure. He said the company is making payments as assets are sold, but he couldn't say when employees would be paid.
"Mr. O'Biso cannot promise a date because he is not fully in control of Gringo's Locos," Brinson said. "Getting all Gringos Locos' employees fully paid is Mr. O'Biso's top priority every single day until it is done."
Jeremy Clark told Channel 9 he doesn't know a lot about the situation because they're locked out of the companies' accounts.
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