Clark's Corner Chef Was Planning New Menu When East Sacramento Restaurant Suddenly Closed

EAST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A popular East Sacramento restaurant's closure came as a shock to now-former employees who say they never saw it coming.

CBS13 first brought you the story of Clark's Corner's closure on Thursday, when residents who made New Year's Eve plans found a shuttered restaurant instead.

The head chef of the restaurant says he was in the process of building a new menu and hiring employees when he got the dreadful news.

"As far as I knew business was still going well," Stan Moore said.

He found out on Wednesday that he no longer had a job, and neither did the rest of the staff at the East Sacramento restaurant and bar.

"From top to bottom, everybody was shocked except for the person delivering the news," he said.

Moore says they tried to contact customers who made reservations, but the person who took reservations didn't take down customers' contact information.

Moore couldn't give much detail into why the owner decided to close, except for saying the restaurant wasn't making enough money. But he does say the owner Clark Branscum handled the closure professionally when it came to notifying staff.

"The owner was there when people were showing to state what happened, when they would be compensated and why the situation had happened," Moore said.

We tried contacting Branscum on Thursday and Friday, but he declined to give a statement.

The sudden closure in East Sacramento had some worried the Clark's Corner in Ione would be shuttered as well, but the general manager says the two restaurants aren't associated.