North Olmsted's Lone Star Steakhouse permanently closed its doors over the weekend, leaving dozens of employees without jobs and consumers hold thousands in useless gift cards.
Customer Tracey Antognazzi said she was stunned by the sudden closing, especially since she just purchased $500 in Lone Star gift cards several weeks ago, during the holiday season.
Antognazzi said she is now stuck with useless gift cards, along with dozens of other consumers, because the only Lone Star left in Ohio is nearly four hours away in Middletown.
Antognazzi said she's taking her case to the Ohio Attorney General and believes dozens of employees working there had no idea the restaurant was closing.
"Oh I feel very betrayed, it seems like fraud to me," said Antognazzi.
"The doors were locked, and the girls were walking out crying, the waiters and waitresses both. They had no warning."
"I tried calling the company yesterday, and the parent company and left messages. I tried to email; the email was shut down."
Antognazzi believes she was scammed because she bought the gift cards after Lone Star ran a holiday promotion offering $100 in gift cards for $75, just a few weeks before it closed the North Olmsted location.
News 5 repeatedly tried to reach Lone Star's parent company, Day Star Restaurant Group, in Plano Texas, for comment, but none of our calls were returned.
According to a notice on the front door, employees were to get their final paychecks sent to them on January 24, but so far there has been no confirmation.
