WORCESTER—After initially posting in its windows at the beginning of January that the restaurant would be closed “for renovations” until the spring, Lock 50 said on its social media accounts Friday that it has closed. As in, for good.
The post did not expand on this news, other than to thank its customers for their patronage.
Former staff took to the post to express their frustration with the Water Street restaurant’s closure.
Taylor Johndrow commented that she was laid off by the company on Jan. 2 with no warning. At 32 weeks pregnant, she said it gave her no real options to make money other than to go on unemployment until her baby was born.
Lock 50’s head chef showed up to the restaurant on Jan. 2 to open up for business, but the locks on the doors were all changed, and that same day the staff received an email from human resources announcing the closure, Johndrow told The Worcester Guardian on Friday.
“Unfortunately, due to licensing issues we are unable to reopen as Lock 50 as [we had] expected,” the email reads. “While we had hoped to stay open, circumstances inhibited our ability to do so.”
The email states the plan is to reopen as an American Icon Taproom following renovations. American Icon is a brewery out of Vero Beach, Florida.
Johndrow, who began working at Lock 50 in October, said a few days after she started Ed Russo sold the company to new owners from Florida.
Russo announced the sale recently in a post on Russo Italian Restaurant’s Facebook Page on Jan. 3. Russo opened Lock 50 in 2015 with his nephew Tim Russo acting as executive chef.
Russo has not announced who the new owners are and has not responded to requests for comment.
Lock 50 continued operating as it had been after the sale in October, according to Johndrow, and as far as the staff knew, they were going to continue to do so. Other than talk of closing for renovations for a couple of weeks, Johndrow said there had been no discussion of a permanent closure.
“We have enjoyed working with the team at Lock 50 and wish everyone the best of luck as we part ways,” the Jan. 2 email concludes. “With that being said, we will gladly provide letters of recommendation should you seek employment elsewhere. We also encourage you to reapply as we look to reopen in Spring 2024.”
When restaurants transfer ownership, they are required to also transfer their liquor license to continue operating in Worcester. None of the city’s license commission agendas since October, when the sale happened, include a request to transfer the license.
It’s been very hard since she lost her job, Johndrow said, because she loves to work and she also had a plan of taking her leave when she had her baby.
“Now I’m kind of just screwed over because no one’s going to hire me at 35 weeks pregnant,” she said.
If she had been given a heads up before being laid off, she said she could’ve come up with a better plan.
“I feel awful for the staff,” Patrick Suleski said, who was the general manager at the time of the sale but now works for the Worcester Club. “I know it’s a business but anyone about to lose their livelihood deserves a heads up.”
A GoFundMe has been established to help Taylor Johndrow cover the gap between what she would’ve received from Paid Family Medical Leave had she still been working at Lock 50 and what she’s receiving in unemployment.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford, and Antigua and Barbuda. Her work has been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive, and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
