About 40 employees at the Twin Peaks in Harker Heights are out of a job, after the restaurant closed down Monday morning.
This particular franchise is owned by the same company (Peaktastic LLC) that managed the restaurant in Waco. A spokesman with Twin Peaks Corporate, the franchiser, said this shutdown was put into motion shortly after the May 17th shootout.
However, when asked if this was linked to the biker gang shooting, the spokesman for Peaktastic LLC, the franchise, said "the franchiser and the franchisee have simply decided to go their separate ways."
While this plan has been in place for months, apparently most employees had no idea they would soon be losing their jobs.
In fact, quite a few of them found out when they got to work in the morning. Joe Hooks, who worked for the restaurant since it opened in 2014, said the abrupt closing feels like a slap in the face.
"One of my coworkers flagged me down, gave me a ride to the job and was like 'Have you heard what's going on?' and I was like 'No, I haven't,” said Hooks, “I ain't get no letter, no email, no text, no nothing about the store closing down."
The spokesman with Peaktastic LLC said employees were notified on the job the night before and that text messages were sent out to the rest of the workers.
That spokesman also said Peaktastic LLC will be paying employees two weeks worth of wages and that they’re working with Twin Peaks Corporate to offer those who lost their jobs a chance to work at another location.
In the meantime, Wanda Flores, a local recruiter with GC Services, is also working to help these employees find work. She is asking them to contact her at 254-518-COVE.
Local employers who are members of the Facebook group “Killeen Area Jobs,” are also encouraging these employees to join the group in hopes that they can offer them a job.
Anthony Garcia contributed to this report.
