DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Mugsy's Pizza House and Irish Sports Pub employees are sharing concerns about compensation they claim they never received.
The employees told Local 5 they have not seen their latest paychecks and that, throughout their time working at Mugsy's, multiple paychecks bounced.
The pizza spot in Pleasant Hill closed on Jan. 6, 2024, and around 30 employees say they were left hanging on their last paycheck. Workers claim the issue occurred during previous pay periods as well, with some of the bounced checks obtained by Local 5 dating back to September 2023.
"I wasn't paid, I had multiple checks bounce," former employee Leah Thomas said. "And then, at the end, they just stopped paying us altogether."
Thomas says between missing paychecks and bounced checks, she hasn't been paid for about three months of work in total.
"Every week it was 'Next week, next week, next week.' Then, I think, they've just stopped even responding to that," Thomas said.
Local 5 obtained multiple documents from various former employees showing bounced checks and failed payments from the restaurant.
While some ranged all the way back to September, many bounced back in December, just days before the restaurant closed.
"Its been, 'Oh yeah we're taking out a loan. Oh yeah, sorry, we're taking out a loan now,' and its been that repeating over and over again," former employee Andrew Tassin told Local 5.
Ron and Sherri Burkle, the owners of Mugsy's, responded to Local 5 about these accusations in a statement, saying:
"In the first year and a half our restaurant went through the Pandemic recovery set backs as did many other restaurants in the area. We were the new restaurant on the block and there were many hurdles to overcome. We had internal management problems along with food inflation going through the roof. We couldn’t adjust prices fast enough to keep from losing money. Then there were the employee issues and help shortages that became a major burden. I give credit to all of the restaurants and bars that have survived through these last two years!
Even with all of our problems, we felt that we had a great staff And we want to reopen very soon, however, we only want to reopen when the issues have all been addressed and been corrected! This will happen very soon! In regards to employee wages, we are running payroll this week and it is our intentions to make everything right with everyone. We have new management and additional ownership coming !
This will help to spread the responsibilities of everyday management! And bring back Mugsy’s Pizza House to be financially stronger than ever! We are sorry for what has happened. However, It just became too overwhelming and the problems had to be taken care of before moving on! Thank you!"
Former employees said they have previously tried reaching out to the owners for answers.
"They've ignored every message but one. And they responded 'Who is this?'," Thomas said.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, Mugsy's posted on its now-deleted Facebook page promising to reopen soon with everything taken care of.
But former employees said the owners' alleged plans for reopening and repayment didn't come soon enough to keep them clocked in.
"We all tried really hard to make Mugsy's work and be successful, and we loved it and we're sad to see it go," Thomas said. "But we all did what we could."
Former employees still hope that they can be repaid for their work.
“[I] love the people there, they're basically my family for almost the year I worked there, but it is unfortunate that we are put in this kind of bad situation," Tassin said.
Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available. Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter for the latest.