HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A sign hanging on the front of Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant on West Broad Street in Henrico’s West End indicates that restaurant has closed. The Henrico County location is no longer listed on the restaurant chain’s corporate website.

A person inside the restaurant referred all questions to its Pennsylvania-based corporate office. A message left with the corporate office has not yet been returned.

“I got a text this morning from my co-worker giving me the news,” a woman named Fae said. “We thought it was a joke, but we soon found out it wasn’t. I’m just saddened that we didn’t get a warning until this morning.”

“It’s really a sad thing, over half of the workers in that restaurant depended on this for their income. Living off of this. Then out of no where, they are unemployed, without warning,” Kristen Napier added.

Quaker Steak & Lube workers started to reach out Monday morning as word spread of the restaurant’s closure. Some questioned the timing of the closing and the fact they would lose their jobs so close to Christmas.

“All of the employees are very distraught by this situation,” a former employee named Melody Lindsay said. “Not only were we co-workers, but it was a family, a weird, strange, warm family. And now we won’t be able to share the holidays with each other and our pockets will have no money for bills or gifts for the holidays.”

This is a developing story.