ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — Several Sonic Drive-In restaurants suddenly shut their doors, leaving customers upset and employees confused.

Restaurant management says the locations in Roseville, Woodland and Yuba City are closed to remodel, but some aren’t buying it.

The three locations are all owned by the Alizadeh family, who have had several area restaurants shuttered in recent years for unpaid taxes.

Sue Bare wasn’t expecting paper over the windows and a sign in the door when she showed up to the Sonic Drive-In in Roseville on Wednesday.

“I drove in here and thought ‘Gosh its funny that we don’t have anybody lined up,’” she said. “It says ‘remodeling’ but the place is brand new. Hope they aren’t going into bankruptcy.”

Signs around the restaurant say it’s closed for remodeling. CBS13 also obtained a letter from the director of operations sent to employees that lists several repairs, including a line that reads, “Everyone’s jobs are protected until we reopen.”

The restaurants are owned by Abe Alizadeh, a notorious local restaurant owner with a bad financial record. More than 70 Jack In The Box restaurants he owned closed after he declared bankruptcy and owed millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.

Earlier this year, two popular high-end restaurants of his called Crush 29 and Suede Blue suddenly closed down as well.

Salli Stayner isn’t surprised. She says she’s friends with a former employee.

“They have been mismanaged for years,” she said. “He said that they would put signs on all the drive thrus and the stands here that would say ‘Please pay in cash only, the machine is down,’ and they did that because they paid them in cash, to avoid payroll taxes.”

A spokesperson from Sonic Drive-In’s corporate office says it hopes to refranchise the three locations and are looking for new potential owners.

The director of operations says the restaurants will reopen in about a month and all employees are guaranteed their jobs back when that happens. He also says all of their employees have been paid in full for their work up until now.

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