Mehdi Janatinedjad and Heather Law pose with regular customer Tommy Lupton at The Cellar restaurant at the Tallan Building.
photo by John Wilson
Management at The Cellar restaurant said they were given just over a week to vacate their basement space at the Tallan Building.
"We were told last Friday that we have to be out by next Sunday," said manager Heather Law.
Beth Soloff of the Corker Group said The Cellar will be closed a couple of weeks, then reopen under the same name.
"We just wanted to do some renovations and improve the service for the people in the building and the other customers," she said.
Ms. Soloff said the new manager will be Eddie Hearn. She said he previously operated a restaurant in LaFayette, Ga.
She said he told her he would offer jobs to the current staff.
Mehdi Janatinedjad, current owner of the restaurant, said, "All our customers are asking what happened. They cannot believe this. We love our customers and build a relationship with them. This is sad."
Mr. Janatinedjad said he plans to open a restaurant elsewhere, but it will take him time to find a new location.
He said Corker Group officials about a month ago said they wanted to take a look at the equipment "for insurance purposes." He said, "Now I know that was a trick."
He said, "Why didn't they give us time to prepare for this? We could have found another location. But you can't get set up this quick."
Mr. Janatinedjad said he wanted to try to keep the staff together. "I worry about what is going to happen to them. They need jobs."
Ms. Law said the cook has been at The Cellar 17 years and the hostess for seven years.
She said the restaurant had booked a number of events in the future, and now is in the process of doing refunds.
"One man had planned a function in August and had sent out tickets all over the country," she said.
Ms. Soloff said the new management would honor previously booked events.