Midlands Italian restaurant, dinged for back taxes, failing to pay employees, is closed
Not quite a year after being fined by the state for failing to pay employees, both locations of a local Italian restaurant are closed.
The S.C. Department of Revenue confirmed Thursday that the Lexington location of Alodia’s Cucina Italiana, situated at the downtown corner of West Main and South Church streets, was ordered closed after its retail sales tax license was revoked due to a failure to satisfy state tax liens. The Lexington location originally owed nearly $44,000 and presently owes just over $13,000, a department spokesperson said.
Two LLCs associated with the Alodia’s brand are currently listed in the state’s tax lien registry as owing nearly $59,000.
That number represents a reduction in what Alodia’s owed previously, as it was listed as owing nearly $73,000 in November.
Alodia’s didn’t immediately respond to The State’s request for comment. The restaurant posted a statement to Facebook indicating that the closure is permanent.
“Since the shutdown, many things have changed, not only in the rising costs of commodities but also in other areas of operations,” Alodia’s posted. “These changes have made it increasingly difficult for us to continue operating as we have. Despite our deep desire to serve this wonderful community, we find it is no longer feasible to do so.”
The Lexington closure ends a contentious 10 months for the restaurant following employees of that location taking to social media to complain about being left unpaid back in June of last year.
The state Department of Labor ultimately fined the restaurant more than $2,000 after determining it failed to pay wages totaling more than $4,000 to 18 employees.
That wage issue precipitated the departure of the entire Lexington staff, leading Alodia’s to temporarily close its Irmo location to reopen in Lexington. The restaurant’s Lexington lease stipulated that it couldn’t remain closed.
The Lexington restaurant was briefly listed for sale in July, but the listing was taken down within roughly a week.
The Irmo location reopened for one day, Oct. 17, before shuttering again and announcing its permanent closure the next month.
The Lexington closure leaves a vacancy on an increasingly bustling corner of downtown. Alodia’s building sits in front of the town’s Icehouse Amphitheater, and Barrio Tacos + Tequila + Whiskey opened its first South Carolina location last year in the building next door. Three storefronts across the street are slated to soon see three anticipated openings in TakoSushi, the wine bar Moltó Vino, and Voodoo Brewing Company.
This story was originally published April 25, 2024 at 5:38 PM.
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