State Shuts Down Lob Steer Inn, Owners Vow to Reopen
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Previous Story on Closing
A shorter version of this story ran on the website Thursday, generating many comments. To read that story, and to see the comments, click here.
The owners of the Lob Steer Inn say their closing is only temporary and that they will reopen the restaurant by next week at the latest.
On Tuesday afternoon, the N.C. Department of Revenue closed the Southern Pines restaurant and seized property for nonpayment of taxes, according to state officials.
Lob Steer owners Mike and Barbara Gibson attributed their troubles to a struggling economy. They say they got behind on paying taxes but are working closely with the state to make restitution.
“We don’t want our customers to think we are not going to reopen,” Barbara Gibson said. “It’s the Lob Steer. It’s got be there.”
Mike Gibson said he hopes to open today, so that the restaurant doesn’t lose weekend business.
State revenue officials expressed similar optimism that the restaurant would settle the outstanding debt and resume business.
“I do believe they are going to take care of this and reopen,” said Brad Kastor, manager of the levy office enforcement program for the state Department of Revenue. “But there is always a possibility it won’t happen.”
Kastor said the state filed liens on the Lob Steer Inn property and served the business owners with a civil tax warrant for immediate payment for outstanding taxes. The Gibsons were unable to make payment when the warrant was served, and the business was closed, he said.
“Be assured, in general, when you see an action like this, it’s a good indication that we have worked with the business for a lengthy time to try to get them back into compliance, and it just hasn’t worked out,” Kastor said.
Generally, once a business is closed, Kastor said the state will give the owner a reasonable amount of time to make restitution. That time frame is typically a week to 10 days.
If the business doesn’t pay the money owed, the state will attempt to recoup its money by liquidating personal property through a public auction. In the case of a restaurant, that property could include things such as equipment and food and liquor inventory, Kastor said.
If that is still not enough, the remaining liability can be transferred to one or all the corporate owners or to the proprietors.
The Lob Steer Inn has been an eating institution in Southern Pines since 1969.
“It will be reopened,” Babara Gibson said. “If not tomorrow, Monday at the latest. We just have to go through all the hoops the state requires, and that is the holdup right now.”
Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.
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Comments
driveshaft 1 year, 2 months ago
How long where these taxes owed and for how much ? Didn't see listing in The Pilot with the others that owed their taxes
CNMT 1 year, 2 months ago
The listing in the Pilot were those who owed taxes to Moore County, not the state Department of Revenue.
TooHot 1 year, 2 months ago
A "struggling economy"? What are you talking about? DoR taxes are ones you've collected from customers as sales tax, or where you've withheld income tax from the workers' checks. In either case they have nothing to do with a "struggling economy". These are monies you collect and should remit to the state, and cost the business NOTHING. They have nothing to do with a "struggling economy".
It's called theft. It's NOT YOUR MONEY. The state doesn't have "payment plans".
coffecreme 1 year, 2 months ago
Very true TooHot
okiebarbie 1 year, 2 months ago
Or course it's not OUR MONEY, never said it was. Until you know what exactly happened I suggest no one out there throw any stones. Thanks so much for the support of the community.
RmeMP 1 year, 2 months ago
As vocal as "okiebarbie" is on this matter - i wish she could explain why they decided not to pay taxes that weren't even coming out of there pockets? Unless they were using that money to pay off others debts..... But, wouldn't that be a ponzi scheme? Im not acusing, I'm just Saying - that's what it sounds/looks like. Why else would you not pay the state the taxes that don't come out of your pockets like every other business has to?
weedsie21 1 year, 2 months ago
I, for one, will NOT miss this over-rated and over-priced place. I have been there once and was certainly NOT impressed. Good Riddance!
okiebarbie 1 year, 2 months ago
Thank you so much for your support weedsie21. Truly appreciated.
jrt5903 1 year, 2 months ago
I took my wife there a couple of years ago after repeatedly telling her how good it was.... The last time I had been there was in the '80's when the original owner had the place, and it was good. (I would have returned, but I moved out of state.) When I took my wife, it was to say the least, a tremendous disappointment. The food was OK (nothing memorable) but the decor was horrible. It looked exactly like the same stuff that was there 25 years before, just worn out and dirty. In my opinion, someone else needs to run the place. It had a great reputation, once. The management is running the place into the ground. Once you ruin an image, it's awfully hard to repair it.
okiebarbie 1 year, 2 months ago
I can't believe so many people are taking this opportunity to ream and talk so poorly about a business that supports local charities, and other business. This article HAS NOTHING TO DO with the food, the service or the decor. If you had a problem with the food, you should have let someone know before you walked out the door. As for the decor, the owners don't have the DEEP pockets the chains to do a fashion makeover.
Jibbs 1 year, 2 months ago
okiebarbie,
I'm not trying to bash, but the Lobsteer "supports local charities" with money that is already owed to the Department of Revenue? Perhaps charity should take a back seat to solvency. Now the employees are without jobs suppliers have one less restaurant to sell to, and taxes aren't being paid. Essentially, economic activity has decreased because of Lobsteer's closing. How's that for charity?
The best possible thing a company can do for the economy is to be as profitable as demand will allow (despite the vilification from socialists). Employees have steady jobs, taxes get paid, suppliers enjoy consistent business, other local businesses are supported, etc. Everyone benefits.
Barry_Dangerous 1 year, 2 months ago
I also took my wife there and the food was so bad I had to return the entire meal the only thing worse were the prices which were so high that I could of eaten at a real restaurant for less. Line-cooked food at Chef-cooked prices.
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
TooHot I agree! What kind of idiot owns a business and gets so far behind on their sales and withholding taxes that the NCDOR shuts them down! It tells me that this is just business as usual as far as the owners of the Lobsteer are concerned. They just pushed the NCDOR too far. I'll bet you money that the NCDOR isn't the only people they owe. The posts to the original article make me sick. All the "well wishing, etc". I am a businessman. I pay my bills! I pay my taxes! If things get tight, I get paid last or not at all! Survival of the fittest and looks to me the Lobsteer needs to go. Won't be long. The general public is just so unaware.
okiebarbie 1 year, 2 months ago
Thanks HillTopper. Shows what kind of human being you are. As for the idoits that run the place, do you even know them? Do you know their story? Do you know what has happened in their lives? Sounds like you have a personal vendetta against them. Sounds like you do. Hmmmmmm.
dustyrhoades 1 year, 2 months ago
Welcome to the Pilot message boards, okiebarbie, where people use the shield of anonymity to say crap they wouldn't have the guts to say to anyone in person.
Respond if you think you must, but after a few months banging my head against the walls of idiocy here, I've finally learned the truth of the old saying...if you wrestle a pig in mud, you both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it.
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
Don't know them and don't need to. Facts speak for themselves. There are certain obligations that a business owner has. I also know that the NCDOR probably gave them an awful lot of time to pay their tax bill. Plus, most of the money was from sales tax collected from every customer so that means they used that money for something else. Main thing I know is I'm certainly glad that they aren't one of my customers.
okiebarbie 1 year, 2 months ago
How would you know how the state works? Been there yourself have you? Throwing stones? Please let me know where you work so that I will make sure not to frequent YOUR door. You have attacked them personally with your comments and quite frankly there really was no need to. They have learned their lesson and are trying to move on to keep their business is what it sounds like to me. I wish them the best and hope they've learned their lesson. I would never wish that someone goes out of business. What a waste of breath
RmeMP 1 year, 2 months ago
You keep saying "they", but I'm pretty sure that i read in one of your previous posts that you identified yourself as one of the owners :/
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
Good eye RmeMP. I thought the same thing. To set the record straight, I 100% support locally owned business! I make every effort to buy from locally owned businesses. I hope the Lobsteer gets their act together. My beef was they tried to "excuse" their way out of this. Blame it on a down economy and although I'm sure that hurts cash flow, it's still no excuse for not paying their NC sales and withholding taxes. What I find funny is that all of a sudden they can come up with the money. They should have done that long before now.
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
Not perfect Bob46. Just work smart and work hard. Had to really kick it the last few years. And it's "you're" not "your". Just so you know, when the Lobsteer is spending the sales tax money on other things, a portion of that is your money Bob46. Money that's for Moore County, Bob46.
SLA007 1 year, 2 months ago
okiebarbie-Just ignore the insulting comments on here. They only post this stuff because they think they are getting a rise out of you. It is so sad that people have so little class that they would make such comments. Your real customers know how valuable you have been to this community. I understand how hard it must be to be in business in this economy. Regardless on how anyone wants to justify their petty rants on here, until they are in your shoes, they couldn't understand. Personally, I'm ready for you to re-open.
TheDirtyDizz 1 year, 2 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
MaggieMae28355 1 year, 2 months ago
Whatever the causing circumstances surrounding the closure, I do wish the owners well and hopefully continue to enjoy many meals to come at the establishment. Good luck Bob & Barb (?) Hope to see you soon. (And, no, You don't know me, personally)
Sam 1 year, 2 months ago
Regardless of the status of the economy. If someone used money you had entrusted them with for any purpose other than the specific intended purpose. You would recognize that as embezzlement. So why is using collected sales tax for other purposes any different? If a business is not solvent and able to support its purpose, shut it down or make cuts in cost to keep it open. Don't steal from your customers to keep it open. Common sense says that if you are having to do that to stay afloat the best action would be to shut down with dignity rather than to be forced out in shame.
RmeMP 1 year, 2 months ago
Couldn't have said it Better!
Sean 1 year, 2 months ago
When you deposit a dollar in the bank, then go back 3 weeks later to withdraw it, they do not give you the same dollar back!
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
TheDirtyDizz ... wow. You sure about what you said?
TheDirtyDizz 1 year, 2 months ago
100% positive.
specialK 1 year, 2 months ago
I always hate to see a business suffer in this kind of economy but LOTS of businesses are. I think one reason okiebarbie seems so defensive in her posts is that because as an owner, she knew this was coming. They obviously have been living on borrowed time for a while. We all know the consequences of not paying WHATEVER kinds of taxes we owe. I'm sure she was informed even more so since her dad is an accounting professional in this town. And leave DirtyDizz alone, he knows something about it that others of us know who have dealt with trying to get money from them.
annaanddale 1 year, 2 months ago
Why so much anger? People should not get on here and vent bc they have "other" issues...Call your doctor! I didn't realize that there are so many perfect people in Moore County. The Lob Steer is a great restaurant! The food is amazing, the atmosphere is warm and inviting and the people there are the best!!! We love it!!! Let us not forget it was voted "Best" by Moore County residents! Remember what your Mama taught you; "If you cant say nothing nice, dont say nothing at all." We love you Lob Steer and cant wait until you reopen!
specialK 1 year, 2 months ago
I never said it was not a great restaurant with friendly people, blah blah blah. The fact is, this didn't happen overnight and it isn't right to bash the government for once doing an efficient job. Give someone an inch and they usually take a mile. Seems to be the case here. Hopefully they will get things together and reopen. It would be a shame to lose any business that has been around for so long due to some poor business decisions. But allow people their opinions, this is a BLOG, after all.....
lakers7 1 year, 2 months ago
I guess people that have NO LIFE!!! like making other people feel miserable making comments and not knowing facts ....I usually eat there is a great restaurant with friendly people...God Bless M and B
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 2 months ago
I think it is sad to hear about local businesses having difficulties, but I also think that some of the comments, while harsh, need to be taken into consideration.
What I am saying is that if a business does not improve over time, someone needs to start asking why. I like watching Chef Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I think that it can be a little over the top, but a lot of common threads run throughout the show, one of them being poor management. Lousy food, poor customer service and a management team that does not put some interest into updating the decor and menu once in a while will drive a place into the ground. A businesses reputation in this town is everything. It takes a handful of disappointed customers to ruin a business. Before I go out to try a new place, I ask around and get opinions from people who have been there. If it gets bad reviews, I don't go. I am certain that other people do the same. I hope that the owners hire someone to come in a do a thorough overhaul of the place, because it sounds like that is what it really needs right now!
LeeMcGraw 1 year, 2 months ago
Go and enjoy the Lob Steer for yourself. I have been going there occasionally for over 30 years and wish the best to them. Critics don't speak for everyones taste. We all have places we love to eat which wouldn't get 2 stars on some critic's little chart, but we know good! The movie, Shawshank Redemption did not win an Acadamy award, and proves to most, that the panal's tastebuds lie in the tongue of their shoes. Taxes will get paid one way or another. Nasty bloggers will eventually die. Yup...both are inevitable.
TooHot 1 year, 2 months ago
You gonna pay these obviously hugely delinquent taxes?
MooreNorth 1 year, 2 months ago
How did this become a Restaurant Review? They didn't pay their taxes. I do not care if it's the best food on the east coast, with ambiance unequaled. They have to pay their taxes like everyone else. Hate it, but there it is. Hope they solve it soon.
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
LeeMcGraw ... "Nasty bloggers will eventually die" ... Are You Serious?! It just amazes me how you and others want to defend the Lob Steer (spelled correctly just for Bob46). What they have done is a crime. Period. No way to defend it. What I found very interesting after this blog started, but something I originally suspected was they also don't pay their other bills. I'd love to see how all you little "bleeding hearts" would act if they were into you for $30,000 like TheDirtyDizz says they are to Aberdeen Provisions! The other thing I find interesting is there was no post to dispute TheDirtyDizz's claim that they owed this money from Okiebarbie (obviously one of the owners) and she was all over this blog until that post. And that's right MooreNorth, this isn't a restaurant review. It's about a business that collected sales tax, etc and used the money for something else. Was given a adequate of time to pay these taxes and didn't. Pushed the NCDOR too far and got shut down.
HillTopper 1 year, 2 months ago
LMAO ... thanks Bob46.
djcalaska 1 year, 2 months ago
To the owners of Lob Steer; Just want you to know we enjoy your restaurant and menu. The staff is always extremely nice and the food is cooked just like we asked. I hope you are able to get the financial situation straightened out soon and get up and running again! We are really missing the salad bar too! Non- business owners might be surprised how many businesses are very close to the situation you are in.
mssucks2 1 year, 2 months ago
I am the daughter of a former small business owner. I don't know the owners of the Lob Steer, but I do understand how this can happen. My family didn't own a restaurant and yes, struggling economy as well as many other factors we have no clue about can have a big effect on a company's income. My parents had to pay taxes quarterly...weather they had it or not. The 1st priority were paying the employees..next priority...the vendors..next up business utilities, rent or morgage on building etc.then you beg and borrow if there's nothing left in that pot for taxes. My family maxed out credit cards, had personal and company bank accounts levied because of these quarterly taxes, not to mention family members bailing them out when they could. It was not mismanagement of money, they just couldn't keep up. Sales taxes don't mean a whole lot if the vendors prices are increasing. And the vendors have to raise their prices to cover their overhead. You aren't making a killing with those sales tax. If you own a business you get taxed to death. That I know from experience. I really do hope The Lob Steer is able to get it going again. It would be sad to see another small business fall around here.