Westlake Paninis

Panini's Westlake

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Panini's restaurant in Westlake closed abruptly Saturday night after Ohio State's Big 10 Championship football drubbing of Wisconsin that drew a huge crowd to the popular watering hole.

Employees, worried that they're not being paid, decided en masse not to work for free, according to a court-appointed receiver who had been in control of the business until Dec. 1.

Patrons expecting to enjoy sandwiches and beer during the Browns game Sunday had to find other accommodations.

Responding to a complaint from a customer on the Westlake Panini's Facebook page, the Panini's Franchise Group lamented the closing and the "terrible" manner in which the establishment announced it: "Panini's Franchise Group had nothing to do with this situation," the comment reads. There are 18 Panini's franchises, according to the group's website.

This sign greeted customers of the Westlake Panini's Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the franchise group said it had no comment.

Owners of the restaurant have been at odds for months, with minority owners -- former Browns lineman Frank Winters and his Green Bay Packers teammate Marco Rivera, along with Joseph Hanna and John Kostoglou -- filing suit against the majority shareholder, Thomas Culkar, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Sept. 4.

A court-appointed receiver, Mark Dottore, took over the business in early November to safeguard it and prepare it for sale. He said the Panini's group was ready to pull its franchise if a receiver wasn't put in charge.

"We cleaned the operation up," Dottore said. In addition to actual cleaning of the facility, he purchased needed glasses and silverware, convinced vendors who were owed money to continue supplying on a cash-for-delivery basis and shored up unsettled finances and payroll. He was attempting to renegotiate rent, which he characterized as excessive for the market.

"They had no plan. They were behind on sales tax, behind on payroll, behind on child support (which is withheld from employee paychecks who owe it)," he said. "I had that place teed up for sale."

However, the plaintiffs decided to dismiss the suit, which took the business out of the hands of the receiver.

Now, Dottore is asking judge Ronald Suster for direction. He still controls money from receivership and is intent on making sure employees are paid. Whether the restaurant has closed as operations transition from the receiver back to Culkar, the majority shareholder, or whether it is closed for good remains unknown.

Culkar's lawyer, Daniel Sucher of Avon, did not comment.

The lawyer for the minority shareholders who originally sued Culkar, Thomas Colaluca, said his clients directed him to drop the suit. He did not offer a reason.

The restaurant opened in 2009 after M Bistro, which had occupied the space, closed. Culkar took care of the business office duties and minority shareholder Hanna handled management of the establishment, according to court papers.

The minority partners became convinced that Culkar was not handling the money properly and entered into an agreement in June 2013 to have an outside accountant do a review. That review was included in the lawsuit filed in September.

Culkar, according to the accountant's report, did not cooperate. The report details a number of alleged financial irregularities including unpaid taxes.

The lawsuit also contended Culkar used restaurant money for personal matters, including family credit cards and debts.

Culkar, through various other business entities, has been involved in ownership of a number of other restaurants, as has Hanna. Both were once partners in the Panini's in downtown Cleveland on West 6th Street, but neither has an interest in that store any more. None of the other partners are involved in that franchise, either.