ROCKFORD, IL — Beef-A-Roo locations in the Rockford area re-opened on April 28, a day after suddenly closing because of expired business registrations.
Beef-A-Roo said that all restaurants in the area had re-opened at full capacity.
“We are incredibly grateful for the patience, encouragement, and support we have already received,” said Jeremy Wise, Beef-A-Roo vice president in a statement. “Your loyalty means everything to us, and it is what motivates our team to work around the clock to get back to serving you.”
Illinois Department of Revenue officials had on April 27 posted notices on the doors of eight area Beef-A-Roo locations that read “WARNING this business’ certificate of registration has EXPIRED.” It asked customers to report illegal sales to the department.
Meanwhile, Beef-A-Roo says it is also working to resolve complaints that it has in recent months stiffed schools including at least five Harlem School District schools and two Harlem sports teams of fundraising dollars. Wise said in a statement that Beef-A-Roo has reprocessed the fundraising payments and expects to provide the school funding within two weeks.
Wise said that changes in the company’s finance department may have led to the recent problems.
“Over the past several months, our organization has undergone a period of internal transition,” Wise said in a statement. “This has included changes in leadership, particularly within our finance function, as well as atransition between financial institutions. During this time, certain administrative and processing disruptions may have occurred as systems, processes, and oversight responsibilities were being realigned. We want to be clear that we have taken steps to address this matter.”
Beef-A-Roo was founded by the DeBruler family in 1967. It was acquired by a private equity firm and then in 2022 by Next Brands. Since then, several Beef-A-Roo franchises have expanded across the country.
Beef-A-Roo’s Freeport location is a separate franchise and was not impacted by the closures.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Beef-A-Roo re-opens after registration issues, addresses school funding
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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