ROCKFORD, IL — Beef-a-Roo employees who haven’t been paid for weeks are saying they were notified the company is implementing a companywide layoff of all workers and closing its restaurants.
Phones at Rockford area Beef-a-Roos went unanswered July 8 and were not accepting voicemail messages. The Beef-a-Roo website does not appear to be working.
Most area stores had closed previously when employees had not been paid. However, the Freeport Beef-a-Roo continues to operate as an independently owned and operated franchise.
Shawna Smith who worked at the Beef-a-Roo in Macomb since December, said her general manager forwarded her a message from company human resources informing employees they were being laid off “due to severe financial constraints that made it impossible for the company to continue operations.”
The layoffs included company leadership. It’s unclear if the layoffs will effect only corporate operated stores or franchise stores as well. Some employees are also saying Beef-a-Roo Inc., which was acquired by the Dallas-based private equity firm Elysian Capital in 2019, plans to file for bankruptcy.
“It’s wrong what they are doing. Everyone from all the stores have been affected tremendously from this,” Smith said during a phone interview. “If the bankruptcy thing is real, they are going to file for bankruptcy, and we are going to be out what we are owed. That doesn’t seem right to me. Someone needs to stand up and do something because corporate greed is a real thing.”
Elysian Capital CEO Jeff Love did not respond to an email seeking comment. Previously, company officials had said they were planning to sell the company that had been founded in Rockford by the DeBruler family in 1967.
Smith said she has not been paid since June 15. That was pay through June 6. She is owed for pay through July 2. Although the company has said it is trying to meet payroll obligations, Smith said she has no faith that the company will pay employees what they are owed.
Smith said some of her fellow employees are losing their apartments and places to live because of an inability to pay their rent. She has created a GoFundMe in hopes of raising $2,000 to assist her fellow employees.
Saying she was on her way to an Illinois unemployment office, Smith said she has filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor and contacted the Illinois Attorney General’s Office about not being paid for her work.
Beef-a-Roo Vice President Jeremy Wise confirmed via a Facebook message that he is no longer with the company but declined to comment further.
According to the Freeport Beef-a-Roo Facebook page, the restaurant and its employees are not affected by the financial hardships facing the company. The store at 1804 S. West Ave. in Freeport opened in 2024 and continues to be open daily.
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: Could this be the end for Beef-a-Roo?
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
