The Eatery In West Sacramento Closes Its Doors

Popular West Sacramento restaurant The Eatery has closed its doors for good.

The restaurant's owners, Jess and Monda Millbourn, posted a message on the restaurant's facebook page on Tuesday which reads, "Due to ongoing battles with the Board of Equalization and our landlord we can no longer stay in business."

Jess tells CBS13 they closed the restaurant Sunday due to mounting debt resulting from late tax payments. Jess says their problems began shortly after they opened The Eatery's doors in August 2011. "We made a lot of stupid rookie mistakes. We didn't hire an accountant from the get-go."

At the end of 2013 the Milbourns were put on a $2,000-per-month payment plan with the BOE, resulting in late payments to vendors and to their landlord. Eventually unable to pay their bills as well as the full payment to the BOE, levies were placed on their accounts.

Jess says the BOE wasn't willing to budge on the payment plan. He says he wasn't trying to get out of paying, but "I also know they have the capability of adjusting what they can accept [as payment]…At the end of the day, it's a restaurant. We don't have a bank account loaded with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Twenty-two people who were employed by The Eatery are now out of the job.

Jess says he still has to pay vendors, employees, the landlord, and of course, the BOE.