Matthew’s East End Grill never had the taps for beer snobs or a menu for foodies.

What the classic pub had in its scarred mosaic tile floor, brick interior and softball trophies behind the bar was a je ne sais quoi that drew a loyal following as eclectic as the Rochester Entertainment District it called home.

It was as much a haunt for cops and journalists as it was for lawyers, truck drivers and musicians who found in its fare sustenance for the body and soul.

But after nearly 15 years on East Avenue in a building that once housed a Chevy dealership, the familiar watering hole has inexplicably gone dry and dark, leaving many to wonder why.

“What’s going on with this place?” asked Jay Belanger, a courier who stopped in front of Matthew’s on his way to the coffee shop down the street the other day.

The doors that promise to be open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. have been locked for two weeks. No neon beer signs or televisions are aglow behind the storefront glass. The patio, a summertime attraction, is empty.

The owners of Matthew’s have either declined to comment or not returned phone messages from reporters wondering, like Belanger, what’s going on.

Part of the story may be found in the Monroe County Clerk’s Office.

Food crawl: Enjoying the East End

Filed there are more than $601,000 in open state tax liens against the company that does business as Matthew’s and the three men listed as its principal owners — Joseph Vetere, Peter George and Carl Falk.

The liens are among 23 totaling more than $761,000 the state has filed against the proprietors of Matthew’s since the summer of 2011. The most recent was filed in April.

Documents show nine of the liens totaling almost $160,000 were paid. But as quickly as some debts were satisfied, others were filed.

For instance, the company settled up a $29,210 debt in March, only to have the state issue another lien against it for $9,440 the next day.

The liens don’t specify what kind of taxes are outstanding, only that taxes are owed. The state Department of Taxation and Finance won’t answer questions about specific tax liens it files publicly, citing debtor privacy.

Liens are a serious enforcement action, but they’re not a criminal matter. They’re just the government’s way of making sure it gets paid, and mark the first step toward collection actions, such as seizing real estate, bank accounts and wages.

When Matthew’s opened in 2002, it was absorbed by the East Avenue neighborhood as though it had been there all along.

It had a vibe that you could arrive alone and someone you’ve known all your life would be waiting on a bar stool. If there wasn’t, whoever was waiting always seemed willing to chat as though you’d known each other forever.

Belanger, 37, said he dropped by Matthew’s maybe a dozen times a year for lunch or a drink after work. “It was a friendly place,” he said with the sense that more than a bar had slipped away.

Matthew’s quickly established itself as a weekend hotspot, a must-stop on the pub crawl circuit, and a community booster. Its owners organized the popular Bill Lawler 5k Run/Walk, now in its eighth year, which raises money for Huntington’s disease.

Business was brisk enough in the early years for its founders to consider opening a second location. They bought a building in the four corners business district of Penfield, the former Kam Wah Chinese restaurant, in 2006.

They got the go-ahead to open from the Penfield Town Board, only to have the venture derailed by a lawsuit brought by a neighboring senior living home that accused the board of ignoring the impact a bar would have on its older residents.

The lawsuit was ultimately dropped, but the setback was enough to delay the opening of a Matthew’s Penfield Grill indefinitely. Today, another bar and grill occupies the location.

The onslaught of liens can be traced to the fallout from that ill-fated pursuit.

By 2011, when the first lien was filed, Falk, George and Vetere had fallen behind enough on their mortgage payments on the property to prompt foreclosure proceedings.

Two years later, the business partners were hit with a $177,000 judgment stemming from the Penfield property. Records show that judgment, like many of the liens, remains unsettled.

“It’s too bad,” Belanger said, his face pressed against the glass. Inside, the booths and stainless steel bar beckoned. “Do you think they’ll reopen?”

With the owners not talking and the barroom dark, it appears last call at Matthew’s may have come and gone.

David Andreatta is a Democrat and Chronicle columnist. He can be reached at dandreatta@gannett.com.