SILVER SPRING TWP., Pa. -- The Silver Spring Diner in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, has closed, leaving its employees without their pay and any answers from its owner.
Karen Stuckey, a diner server, and Mohamed Becheikh, the diner manager, each received word from other employees Monday morning around 2 a.m. that something at the diner was wrong.
"When I woke up to 11 text messages," Stuckey said, "I figured something was not right."
"The cook called me," Becheikh added. "He said the boss is here, turning everything off, and he said we’re closing because we’re having electrical problems."
Signs were posted the following day saying the diner was "Closed For Cleaning," and the diner was "looking forward to serving again on July 27." However, FOX43 confirmed through Pennsylvania bankruptcy courts that the diner's owner, Donald Hearn, along with his attorney, Lawrence Frank, filed the restaurant for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Wednesday night, July 22. Furthermore,the building's realtor, Bill Gladstone of the Bill Gladstone Group at Lemoyne-based real estate company NAICIR, told FOX43 Hearn has put the building up for sale, adding it will not reopen under Hearn's ownership.
Since the restaurant closed Monday, employees say they have been largely unable to get an explanation from Hearn as to why the diner closed and why they have not been paid.
Karen Stuckey is one of a handful of employees who received a bounced paycheck from Mid Penn Bank. Stuckey showed FOX43 her payslip, which attributes the inability to offer funds to a frozen account. FOX43 left multiple messages on Hearn's cellphone, but those messages were not returned. Hearn's attorney, Lawrence Frank, of Dillsburg, spoke with FOX43 over the phone.
"There were no funds available to make last payroll. The diner had been losing money up to its close," Frank said. "[Hearn] has been taking this very very very hard. He is crushed by this."
Most important for the diner's employees, however, is wanting to know how to get their missing paychecks. Steven Breit, a defense attorney based in Lancaster, says they could contact local law enforcement if they believe Hearn was committing a criminal act.
"The next step would be take a step back and wait for the dust to settle to determine if the individual issued a bad check," Breit said. "Then pursue criminal charges in the nature of issuing a bad check, such as theft by deception, or theft of services."
Silver Spring Diner's closing is the latest in a controversial summer for Hearn. On June 3, a visit from the Department of Agriculture led to 11 alleged violations, including operating without a license and retail food facility and employee cleanliness. On June 25, the Silver Spring Diner was robbed at gunpoint, and on July 3, the Hearn-owned Flapjacks Restaurant and Pub in Dillsburg was the scene of a murder-suicide.
Hearn is scheduled for a summary trial in the Silver Spring Diner's accused violations on August 27.