The D.C. government has ordered the shutdown of three Five Guys restaurants in the city because the owners failed to pay sales taxes, officials say.
The owners of three Five Guys restaurants in Northwest, Northeast and Southwest D.C. failed to pay more than $530,000 in sales taxes that they charged customers but never handed over to the city, the Office of Tax and Revenue announced Tuesday.
The locations ordered to close are at 1400 I St. NW, near the McPherson Square Metro station; at 1300 Second St. NE, near the NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro station; and in L'Enfant Plaza.
A corporate spokewoman for Five Guys said the company is working with the franchise owner of these three locations "to resolve the issue as quickly as possible." The other Five Guys locations in D.C. are open and have normal business hours, she said.
"We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience," the spokeswoman said.
Calls to the three locations went unanswered.
City officials made multiple attempts to collect the taxes, a statement from OTR said.
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Officials warned that companies that do not remit sales taxes face "seizures, bank levies and additional sales tax certificate revocations."
Five Guys' first location opened in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986. The company says they now have more than 1,500 locations worldwide.
Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
