ROCKFORD, IL — The future of Beef-a-Roo appears in doubt as employees report they are going unpaid, and its owner attempts to sell the business.
Beef-a-Roo Inc. and Dallas-based private equity firm Elysian Capital, which acquired Beef-a-Roo in 2019, in a letter to employees say it is selling the restaurant chain founded in Rockford to a Texas-based firm called Hungry Investments Inc.
Although Beef-a-Roo initially said the sale was effective June 26, Vice President Jeremy Wise in a news release said the sale is pending and that the company is experiencing a “temporary payroll disruption.”
Wise said the company is working to resolve its payroll issues. Although employee say they have not been paid, Wise said the company is offering things like daily payments, electronic money transfers and emergency employee assistance.
“Our commitment is simple: every employee will be paid every dollar they have earned,” Wise said in a news release. “We are utilizing every available resource to accelerate payments, provide daily pay options and assist employees experiencing immediate hardship while we complete our funding process.”
Wise said Beef-a-Roo, Inc. remains the operating owner “while the parties complete the necessary transition of vendors, banking relationships, licensing, regulatory filings and other operational requirements.”
But former Beef-a-Roo marketing coordinator Brianna Brokenberry questions whether it is a legitimate sale or merely a shell game transferring the business to another entity still controlled by its current ownership group. Brokenberry said she quit after not being paid and was asked to lie to employees about plans for paying them.
“Everybody who is employed by Beef-a-Roo including people in the corporate office except for the CEO and vice president — Jeff Love and Jeremy Wise — and then all the people who work in individual Beef-a-Roo locations are also being effected,” Brokenberry said in a phone interview. “Nobody has been paid.”
Founded by the DeBruler family in 1967, the business was bought by Elysian Capital in 2019. Franchise and development rights for Beef-a-Roo were acquired by NEXT Brands Inc. in 2022. Elysian Capital, Next Brands and Hungry Investments did not respond to phone and email messages requesting comment.
Brokenberry, who started working for the company at its Dallas headquarters in March, said most employees of Beef-a-Roo haven’t been paid since June 15 which at the time was three days late.
“We are supposed to be paid on Wednesdays bi-weekly, but its been crazy,” Brokenberry said. “They changed it to Thursday nights and then they changed it to Friday mornings. The reason they keep changing it is because they don’t have any money to fund the payroll.”
Most Rockford area stores have remained open by operating with a skeleton crew.
But the store known as the Highcrest Road Beef-a-Roo at 1680 N. Alpine Road was closed on Friday.
Management posted signs on the doors and the drive thru menu.
“Thank you so much for letting us be a part of this community and neighborhood,” a note to customers read. “Unfortunately, due to circumstances that are beyond our control, management and employees will not be able to serve and chat with you for the foreseeable future. While we love our job, customers and crew members, we have decided that we cannot keep being taken advantage of.”
Another sign posted on an employee entrance said that managers and employees of the store haven’t paid, have not been given a timeline for being paid and refuse to come into work until being paid.
“Every employee who wants one still has a job here,” the note read. “Unless you do not want to work here, then just let us know through our group chats. While this is not a goodbye, this is just a see you later.”
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 may be sold again as employees go unpaid
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
