Both Sumter Domino's Pizza locations close

Employees say wages unpaid

Annabelle Robertson / The Item This is one of the Sumter Domino's locations that has closed suddenly.

By ANNABELLE ROBERTSON
Item Staff Writer
arobertson@theitem.com

Two locally-owned Domino's Pizza franchises have closed shop, allegedly leaving many unpaid bills and even more questions.

According to several employees, the two stores, located on Miller Road and S.C. 441, unexpectedly stopped doing business about 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, after owner Julie Ereth instructed them to stop working and leave the premises as soon as possible.

"The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) shut us down. A guy walked in the door about 3:30, told us he was from the IRS and that he just wanted to see if we were still open," said Assistant Manager Tyler Hill, 23. "Then he left. An hour later, Julie called me up and told me to get out the orders I had already taken, but not to take any more and to close."

Hill said he hasn't been paid for more than two weeks, and estimates that Ereth owes him at least $400.

Both stores, he said, have been closed since that time. Both also have signs on the front door that read, "Closed For Remodeling." According to neighboring business owners, however, no one has entered the premises for days.

Tara Evans, another assistant manager at the Miller Road location, said she hasn't been paid, either. A single mother, she's worked for Ereth for almost 10 years. Now, she said, Ereth won't return any of her phone calls.

"I've been loyal to them and normally I wouldn't talk about my company, but ...," Evans said, her voice breaking. "A lot of us have children, me included, and she told us she had mailed our paychecks (more than a week ago), but that's not being honest. I've been robbed working there, and this is the best you can do?"

Ereth owes Evans more than $400, Evans said. And she's not the only one.

"One of my colleagues can't even go and work for another delivery company, because she can't pay her car insurance," Evans said.

Allen Gill, 23, a driver for the S.C. 441 location since April 2007, said he was also stiffed.

"She told me Sunday night that we'd be closed on Monday, but that we'd be open on Tuesday," he said. "I called the store on Tuesday but no one answered. I drive by there on my way to my day job, but it's stayed closed."

Gill said that he has seen signs of problems for months and that several of his paychecks have bounced.

"My bank won't even take checks from Domino's anymore," he said. "Neither will Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion — none of the businesses out there. Whenever any of us would find a place that would take the check, we'd all rush out there. But if you got there past 3:30 or 4 o'clock, it would bounce."

According to public records, Ereth has numerous criminal charges against her, including fraudulent checks. Two of those charges are dated Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, and one was for more than $1,000.

N.G. "Luke" Lukens, special projects manager for Sumter County, confirmed that Ereth has been to court several times for non-payment of hospitality fees. And a spokesperson for the S.C. Department of Revenue said that Ereth had been arrested on Oct. 24 for operating a business without a retail sales license.

Both hospitality fees and retails sales taxes are charged directly to customers and are included in the price of the food.

At press time, Ereth had not returned phone calls.