Beleaguered since its inception, Sweet Daily Cafe in El Monte shuttered at the end of February after being served an eviction notice.

Landowner Ramona and Peck Investments served the cafe, at 3748 Peck Road, the notice Feb. 28 after it was filed in West Covina Superior Court. The cafe had been served a “pay rent or quit” notice Feb. 7, demanding payment of $6,750 within three days.

In addition, a report issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Jan. 11 shows that the cafe failed its final plan check re-inspection because the first plan did not match the facility and, among other corrections, the cafe needed proper food preparation counters instead of unfinished wood block counters.

Owner Mike Sung did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the situation, and the cafe’s social media pages have been deleted. Attempts to visit the cafe’s website result in warnings of a potential security threat via malware.

The cafe’s troubles began a few short weeks after its grand opening at the end of October. Sweet Daily closed abruptly in early November, with a letter from Sung posted on the cafe saying that it was shut down to “improve on our customer service and operation aspects of business.”

One former employee, El Monte resident Ashley Curry, said in November that staff training had been brief and inadequate and that she had been fired because she complained about that and other issues she raised about working conditions.

The cafe reopened in late November with a grand re-opening ceremony.

Former manager Mark Prado, who was there for the grand re-opening, said he and his staff accepted the restaurant was closed for good once they received the eviction notice and were asked to vacate the property.

“(Sung) said he was taking care of it,” Prado said. “That’s (an expletive), and now we’re all unemployed.”

Prado said he took over as the cafe’s general manager 2 1/2 months ago and has yet to be paid. He said the seven employees working under him were also asked to wait before cashing their checks because of insufficient funds.

Employees hired after this news organization’s initial report on Sweet Daily’s abrupt closure shortly after openings were made to sign a document barring them from speaking with journalists about the business, Prado said.

“All of us were depending on this income,” Prado said. “They all stood behind me and said if I leave, they’re leaving too. It didn’t come down to that until we were served with eviction papers.”

In January, Sweet Daily’s original location in Riverside closed with no explanation given as to why.