Employees say Colorado restaurant owes weeks of wages: "I was devastated. I mean, I have a family."
Employees at Castle Pines restaurant Berg Haus say they haven't been paid in five weeks and they were notified on Thanksgiving day to look elsewhere for work.
"This was kinda the first day we hadn't had payment, this is the second time, November 8th," said Berg Haus bartender Cailyn Ortelli, while gesturing to her notes.
Berg Haus employees say they haven't been paid since October, and are owed thousands of dollars.
"We were told that they were gonna switch the ownership and our pay would be processed throughout that, but unfortunately we never saw our pay after October 26," said Berg Haus cook Mariah Beyersdorf.
In the last two weeks, the restaurant closed, reopened, then closed again. But employees were told they still had a job and the pay for the three weeks they had worked was coming.
"It was just constant asking, 'where is our payment?'" said Ortelli.
After two closing dates for new ownership came and went, employees were told to "move on" on Thanksgiving day but still didn't receive their pay.
"I was devastated. I mean, I have a family," said Beyersdorf.
"At the end of the day all of us have families there's a bunch of people that have kids and rely on this," said Berg Haus general manager Austin Norris.
Employees created an online fundraiser for the wages owed. Many say they've drained their savings and are struggling to put food on the table.
"I've trusted. You know, I put my trust in my employer, what he was saying. It just feels like a slap in the face. I felt like they knew all along what was going on, something wasn't being told to us, while we stayed here five weeks working because I trusted," said Shane Wara, Berg Haus kitchen manager.
Saying goodbye to the job they trusted and the community they loved, and turning to an uncertain future.
"We had a lot of locals that came in every day. I'm really gonna miss that," said Wara.
The owner of Berg Haus told CBS News Colorado a sale fell through and that's why payroll bounced.
He says he is taking out a personal line of credit and employees should get paid on Wednesday.
