After less than a year in business, Paulie B's has closed its doors.
The seafood restaurant, which opened in December 2018, is permanently closed at the original 829 Eastland Drive location and a new location at 200 E. Madison St. in the Governor Office Building, which opened for just a few days.
The owner of the Eastland Drive building, Jean Bogg, said the restaurant's owner, Paul Baker, has been behind on rent for the property and owes her a significant amount of money.
The Eastland Drive location's doors are locked, and a sign propped in the doorway reads "Closed for remodel, sorry!"
But Bogg and former manager Alton Akacrew confirmed the business is closed Akacrew said Baker left Jefferson City for Florida earlier this year.
After Akacrew gained access to financial statements for the business, he learned rent on the building, as well as taxes, hadn't been paid since March, he said. Bills are also owed to food suppliers and other vendors, and some employees have not been paid, Akacrew said.
Bogg said she has had the locks on the property changed because some things from inside the restaurant - like tables, chairs, liquor and a television - have disappeared. Bogg said she isn't sure what happened to the items, but she changed the locks in order to stop things from being stolen.
Akacrew is making plans to open a new restaurant with a similar menu soon, and said several former Paulie B's employees will work for him there. He said several other local restaurants had reached out to him, offering jobs to some of the former Paulie B's employees.
Baker could not be reached for comment.
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