Restaurant terminates employees via text

FLORENCE, AL (WAFF) - Demos' in Florence served their final customers Sunday night.

An employee of Demos' said the staff was notified via text message that the restaurant was shutting down and not to show up to work.

On Monday, a U-Haul truck was parked next to the building, and staff were filling it up with items from inside.

A security officer in the parking lot told would-be customers the restaurant had shut down.

The restaurant's owners placed a note on the front doors thanking the community for their support. The note stated low sales have forced them to shut down just four years after opening.

"We've really felt welcome into the community and we're really going to miss being here," said owner Peter Demos.

Demos said the restaurant had been struggling to stay afloat.

"We've lost a lot of money over the last several years and looking forward with both the political and economic climate, we decided it was not worth risking hoping that it might turn around," said Demos.

He said he felt the text sent to his employees was the right thing to do.

"We timed it right so they would have a total of four weeks' worth of pay coming, and that gives them the opportunity to look for jobs without being burdened of coming in for work as well as allow for the safety of our employees. With all the recent events that we've had with a lot of the shootings, etc. we wanted to make sure all of our employees were safe," said Demos.

He said each of his nearly 65 employees will receive their final paycheck in addition to two weeks' severance.

The owners said they tried to sell the location to another company, but the deal fell through.

The building once known as Demos' will remain empty until something else comes along.

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