Correction appended.



The

, just over a month after the

formally

.

The

announced in a news release that it closed for the last time at 9 p.m. Saturday. Typhoon operated outlets in Portland, Beaverton, Gresham, Bend and Redmond, Wash.

Kline, who was also executive chef, said she couldn't continue the business without her husband,

.

"Without his energy, support and commitment, operating Typhoon has required much more attention than I am able to give and has begun to take a toll on my health," she said in the news release.

Angie Galimanis, a spokeswoman, said Sunday that the closure was "not necessarily" related to the state's investigation.

"The biggest thing here is her losing her husband," Galimanis said. "It became too stressful for her to do on her own." She said Kline was unavailable for comment.

The chain has been the subject of complaints for years.

More

, using special work visas and employment contracts to pay them less, work them longer and subject them to less favorable working conditions than their non-Thai peers.

The agency said it planned to seek $250,000 for each Thai national who suffered emotionally, mentally and physically after being required to sign employment contracts. Jim Thomas, an adviser to Typhoon's board, said in December that the case had "no substance" but that the company couldn't comment further until it was resolved.

Among other issues:

-- Typhoon settled a federal lawsuit brought in 2003 by two former chefs who alleged, among other things, that the restaurant denied them overtime.

-- In 2004, the restaurant agreed to pay $170,000 in back wages to 33 employees to settle U.S. Labor Department charges that it failed to properly pay cooks overtime. The department investigated after an American worker complained about the treatment of Thai employees.

-- The chain and the Klines were accused in a 2008 lawsuit of violating human trafficking laws, wage-and-hour laws and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws. Typhoon moved to dismiss the suit, pointing to a clause in its employment contract requiring disputes to be arbitrated. A federal judge rejected the clause, but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision. In July 2011, a federal arbitration panel awarded a former chef $268,000 in overtime but found no evidence of trafficking, discrimination or retaliation.

-- In 2010, the Internal Revenue Service and two Oregon agencies filed liens against the chain for $1.5 million in unpaid payroll taxes and penalties.

Kline said in the news release that the business had about 200 employees in Oregon and Washington, and that it would "fulfill all of our contractual agreements with our staff, both U.S. and Thai nationals."

Kline, a native of Thailand, opened the chain in Northwest Portland in 1995. The chain's West Linn and flagship downtown Portland locations closed in 2011.

Correction:

A court-ordered arbitration panel in July 2011 awarded former Typhoon Inc. chef Sarina Reabroy $268,000 after finding the restaurant chain discriminated based on her national origin and workers' compensation claim and owed her $18,000 in unpaid overtime. The three-person panel found no evidence Typhoon violated federal human trafficking laws and her claims of sexual harassment, retaliation and infliction of emotional distress were dismissed. A story in Monday's newspaper described the panel's award and findings incorrectly.

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and