Shari’s shuts another Boise-area restaurant as its Idaho legal woes mount
The demise of Shari’s restaurants in the Northwest has accelerated, with confirmation that its remaining restaurants in its home state of Oregon are closed and that another Treasure Valley restaurant has closed.
The CEO of the family-style restaurant’s parent company confirmed in an email to the Oregon Lottery that all of Oregon’s Shari’s restaurants had closed, multiple Oregon media outlets reported Monday.
The closures mark an end of an era for the chain: Shari’s launched in 1978 in Hermiston, Oregon, and had 42 sites remaining in that state.
Shari’s has closed at least four restaurants in Idaho this year, including one in April at 8521 W. Franklin Road near the Boise Towne Square mall, one in May in Lewiston and one in July in Idaho Falls.
Its latest closure came in August at 1807 Caldwell Blvd. in Nampa, according to its Google business listing. A call Tuesday to the restaurant’s phone number was greeted with an automated message, “The party you have reached is unavailable.”
Three Idaho restaurants remained open, calls by the Idaho Statesman confirmed:
- 8121 W. Chinden Blvd. near Glenwood Street in Garden City, where an employee said the business will stay open.
- 895 S. Progress Ave. near Meridian Road and Interstate 84 in Meridian.
- 1601 Blue Lake Blvd. (Idaho 93) in Twin Falls.
Shari’s Idaho legal woes mount
But as the chain struggles to pay its bills, multiple businesses have taken it to court in Idaho.
In Ada County, online court records Tuesday showed that Shari’s faces at least three lawsuits:
- Franklin Towne Plaza LLC, owner of the land and building leased by the Shari’s near Boise Towne Square, sued in March to force Shari’s eviction. The restaurant closed soon afterward, but the lawsuit remains active.
Brittany Associates Inc. sued in August, alleging a breach of contract exceeding $10,000.
- Normatt Properties LP, whose general partner is Mark D. Mattefs of Garden City, also sued Shari’s in August.
The Nampa closure followed a Canyon County magistrate judge’s order Sept. 24 evicting Shari’s from the land it leased from Karcher Corner LLC, a business owned by Roger L. Williamson of Caldwell and other Williamson family members, according to online court, business-registration and property-assessment records reviewed by the Idaho Statesman. The order was reported by 107.9 Lite FM.
A limited liability company associated with Shari’s Management Corp., the Beaverton, Oregon, company that runs the restaurants, owns the restaurant building on the Nampa site.
Shari’s has been sued in connection with its Twin Falls and Idaho Falls restaurants, too:
- In Bonneville County, where Idaho Falls is located, Renaissance Partners LLC won a $361,097 judgment Oct. 8 in a breach-of-contract case, and Green and Son’s Agency won an $8,021 judgment July 24.
- In Twin Falls County, Mullen Ventures LLC sued Sept. 12.
But Shari’s made progress on at least one noteworthy front: As of late August, the Idaho State Tax Commission listed six active liens against Shari’s Management Corp. for unpaid state taxes. No unresolved tax liens were still listed Tuesday.
The News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington, reported in August that multiple Shari’s locations in Washington state faced landlord debt-collection lawsuits, and the chain had been served with at least three tax warrants for unpaid taxes from the state’s Department of Revenue, with tax debt still owed as of Tuesday.
Oregon lottery debt
The Oregon restaurants included video lottery gaming machines, which had been an extra revenue stream at the sites.
In response to questions Tuesday from The News Tribune, a spokesperson for the Oregon Lottery said the agency is “still in the process of removing our equipment from the remaining restaurants. We’ve been doing this as we learned of various restaurant closures over the past couple weeks.”
Shari’s reportedly generated just over $34 million in video lottery sales in fiscal 2024.
The spokesperson, Melanie Mesaros, explained that each week, participating retailers deposit money into an account “for what’s called our ‘draw’ or the revenue that’s due to us for Video Lottery play. When a retailer fails to pay their weekly electric fund transfer draw and the bank does not pay due to ‘nonsufficient funds’ or NSF, they are required to pay us immediately or our equipment will be disabled.”
Mesaros wrote, “We learned Monday that Shari’s had an NSF on Oct. 16 and was unable to repay us or provide a bond required by administrative rule.”
Shari’s has an outstanding debt due to Oregon Lottery of $902,341.98, according to Mesaros.
The Oregonian reported that Oregon Shari’s employees were notified sites in the state were to be closed for good by 5 p..m. Sunday, Oct. 20.
Last Wyoming site closes
In Washington and Wyoming, site closures have added up.
The Cheyenne, Wyoming, Shari’s was reported closed Oct. 9 after more than 40 years of service, ending operations at the state’s last site.
In Washington, Shari’s closed its last Tacoma restaurant in July. Shari’s remained listed as open Tuesday in Puyallup, Olympia, Vancouver, Bellingham, Kelso and Moses Lake.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Shari’s shuts another Boise-area restaurant as its Idaho legal woes mount."
