Guru BBQ closes in downtown Des Moines

A downtown Des Moines barbecue joint has closed.

Guru BBQ, located at 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, announced Wednesday on Facebook that it is closing, effective immediately.

"We would like to inform everyone that effective today we are closing our location at 300 MLK. Thank you all for supporting Guru BBQ! #SupportLocal," the Facebook post read. It has since been deleted.

Guru BBQ began operation in November 2015 when brothers Ryan and Marc LePera and chef Patrick Cashman opened the first brick-and-mortar restaurant in a 2,500-square-foot space on the first floor of 300MLK. The trio started out making barbecue as a hobby and had been entering competitions for seven or eight years.

The menu included dishes similar to its mobile truck offerings and a few new items like Chipotle honey tacos, barbecue shrimp po'boys, chocolate bacon chili, smoked caramelized pork sandwiches and Korean fusion tacos.

"We're just cooking what we like to eat," Ryan LePera told the Register in an April 2015 story.

Follow The Des Moines Register on Facebook | Download the Des Moines Register app

Lindsey Hosman, 27, of Des Moines is a mother of two. She told the Register she had been working at Guru BBQ since they opened and acknowledged that business has been slow the last few weeks.

She received a text message from her manager late Tuesday informing her that it was the restaurant's last day. Hosman said her manager was told not to let employees know because management would handle everything Wednesday.

Hosman waited for a phone call or even a text about being jobless. Then she saw the Facebook post.

She called it "a slap in the face."

"My feelings were hurt that he couldn't reach out and let me know," Hosman said.

Hosman commented on the post, but it was later removed, she said. Guru BBQ's Facebook post was deleted about an hour after it published. Here's what it looked like:

She said she was upset and confused by the removal.

"You don't have that business anymore, so why does it matter if people think it looks bad on your character?" Hosman said.

Guru BBQ posted on its Facebook page late Wednesday confirming the news as well as there being miscommunication about the closure to its employees.

"Unfortunately we had a change in circumstance beyond our control which caused us to have to close immediately," the post read.

Hosman said an owner eventually notified her and offered a "genuine" apology.

"It's hard. It sucks," Hosman said. "I bent over backwards for them for two years."

Multiple messages to owners were not returned to the Register on Wednesday night.

Interested in trending Iowa news? Follow @AaYoung15 on Twitter.