Business

Terra Cafe employees ‘disappointed’ by sudden closure

STAR CITY -- Olivia Tennant, former barista and college student, was sitting at home at 7 p.m. Sunday, when she got word that she had just lost her job at Terra Cafe at 425 Industrial Avenue.

"We got a text from our manager who said, 'Hey everyone, I'm frustrated and disappointed to have to tell you all like this, but Kevin [Salisbury], who is the owner, called me this evening with the news that Terra will be closing its doors permanently tomorrow," she said.

Terra Cafe announced their "immediate and permanent closure" of their restaurant on Monday via a Facebook post. Tennant said that she had "no idea" of the business' potential closure and was scheduled to work Monday afternoon.

"They didn't tell us anything. I had my schedule for this week, like I was ready to go in tomorrow." Tennant said. "There were cake orders. Nobody had said anything to me."

A post on Terra Cafe's Instagram story Sunday night, stating that "March Westin lays off Terra Cafe's entire staff within less than 24hr notice." The post was taken down shortly afterward.

Collin Briggs, head barista and social media manager, said that another employee had credentials to Instagram and posted the story unexpectedly. Briggs was also at home when he was notified by his manager, Miller Schneider, that the cafe would not reopen.

According to Briggs, Schneider was just as blindsided as the rest of the staff, and the building was sold unexpectedly by March-Westin, a local construction company.

While there had been rumors of the building being sold for the last few months, Briggs said the staff believed the cafe would remain operating.

"There's been speculation to try to sell the building...I'd say probably for a few months now, but we were always under the impression that we were going to be OK, and that new ownership wouldn't result in us closing completely," he said.

The restaurant has served the area since September 2011. There is no information about the new ownership of the building available at this time. March-Westin did not respond to The Dominion Post in time for this report.

Tennant said she is concerned about her financial situation following the announcement, but cares more about her co-workers.

"Most of us are college students, so we have like rent to pay and everything, but some people there have children, like there's some people there with kids to provide for," she said. "I'm just in shock. Everybody's really upset and anxious because I mean we literally had no idea this was happening."

Briggs also worries about the families that will be affected by the closure.

"There are moms that work there, and students that work there too that don’t have a lot of income and don't have a second job or another place lined up. I'm just scared for them and them finding a new job, especially during this time," he said.