ASHEVILLE — A sign on the door at the darkened Travinia Italian Kitchen in Biltmore Park Town Square reveals the restaurant is now closed.

A representative for Biltmore Farms, the company behind the mixed-use Biltmore Park Town Square development in South Asheville confirmed the closure, but had no other information about the restaurant.

Travinia is part of a small higher-end chain of about a half-dozen Italian eateries.

Other Travinia restaurants have closed over the past few years, including locations in Newport News, Greenville, Aiken and Lexington, Kentucky.

"It's like they just disappeared"

Casey Honeycutt was a line cook at Travinia, and he said he had no notice the restaurant was planning to close.

"I went to work Monday, worked, clocked out and was off on Tuesday," he said.

That's when a co-worker called him and shared the news. "He said, 'You've not heard yet? We're closed and we have no more jobs."

Honeycutt drove to the restaurant to see the sign on the door for himself. He called corporate headquarters, left a message with another Travinia store, and tried to call anyone who might have answers, he said.

Since then, the Asheville restaurant's website has been removed. No one has returned his calls.

"I can't get a hold of anyone. It's like they just disappeared."

At least 30 employees without work

Calls to the Asheville restaurant from the Citizen Times went unanswered Wednesday. Emails to the corporate contact on Travinia's website were not immediately answered.

Honeycutt, who has three grown stepsons and an 11-year-old son, said he made about $11 an hour at Travinia.

He said the restaurant owes him for about 20 hours of work, and he estimates at least 30 other employees are in the same boat.

Cody Robinson, another employee, said he found he was out of a job when he tried to report to work, but found the doors locked.

"I have not (received) my paycheck and no owners have tried to contact me, not even to let me know that we closed," he said. "People still have personal things inside the restaurant, along with their tip money from the night before."

"I can't stop crying"

Another kitchen worker, Gean Franco Moccia, said via text message that Travinia was more than a job. "It was our house, our family."

"People gave 9 years, 5 years, 2 years for this job, and one day without reason (they) close the door," he continued. "I'm writing this and can't stop crying."

"I burned my skin with degreaser to clean my kitchen, our kitchen, because I watched this place like my house," he said. "Where is my money?"

Moccia said he's owed one week of pay.

As of Thursday, several other workers who declined to be named had similar stories.

"We went to work there every day, done our jobs, kept it running," Honeycutt said. "Then they don't have enough respect to say 'We're closing, so you're going to have to find something else to do.'"

He said his kitchen manager tried to get in the restaurant Tuesday, but the locks had been changed overnight.

Honeycutt, who for years worked construction during the day and in kitchens at night, said he's not been without a job for 11 years. On Thursday, he planned to hit the pavement to find work.

"I've been off work since Monday, and I feel like I've been sitting here for years," he said. "It's hard to deal with."

He said many of his co-workers are in the same boat.

"People wonder why people are turning to crime to support their families, and this is why. People just say, 'Hey you're not worth it. You're done.' It's not right."