PARSIPPANY — Houlihan’s abruptly closed its doors on Thursday, September 30. The sign was removed off the building, the sign on Route 46 was painted white and a sign was posted on window.

The post on the door read “We’re Closed. We are deeply saddened to announce the permanent closure of this location. We value our employees, their dedication to the company and we are working to relocate them immediately to one of our many sisten locations nearby. We are grateful for the support of our community and encourage local patron to visit our sister locations in Ramsey, Secaucus or Paramus.”

It was obvious that employees in the Parsippany location didn’t know of the closing, because on Sunday, they participated in the Parsippany Fall Festival, advertising for help as well handing out coupons to the public.

A post on Parsippany Focus Facebook page by Cheri Will Costello said “My son got a call Tuesday to come in tonight [Thursday] for a job interview. We show up and the signs are posted. Why were they advertising “Hiring” just this past Sunday at the fair?!

Paul Anderson said  “We just got a ton of coupons for free kids meals and other things from them at the street fair!”

Ramsey, Secaucus, New Brunswick, Holmdel and Paramus and well as a location in New York are still open.

The Parsippany location, among others, were previously owned A.C.E. Restaurant Group Inc. and was sold in 2018 to Landry’s. Houlihan’s Restaurants, Inc., a diversified restaurant company acquired the 17 Houlihan’s restaurants located in New York and New Jersey owned by A.C.E. Restaurant Group (ACE), ACE was the single largest Houlihan’s franchisee. The location opened in 2014. (Click here to read related article)

Houlihan’s is part of the Landry’s, Inc., located in Houston, Texas.

Parsippany Focus reached out to their corporate office to inquire about the Parsippany location and was told “no comment.”

Landry is in the hospitality, entertainment and gaming business. Some of the other restaurant groups owned by Landry include The Chart House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company,  Bristol Seafood Group, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Joe’s Crab Shack, Landry’s Seafood House, and McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood and Steak.

A.C.E. Restaurant Group Inc, in 2018, owned 15 Houlihan’s restaurants across the state and was fined and agreed to pay $5 million in back wages and damages to more than 1,000 workers after allegedly denying overtime pay and forcing workers to pay twice for shift meals. The restaurants were accused by the Department of Labor in 2015 of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The US Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against two companies — one in New Jersey and another in New York — that are owned by Arnold Runestad of Bergen County, who was President of A.C.E.

The New Jersey restaurants include locations in Bayonne, Brick, Bridgewater, Cherry Hill, Eatontown, Fairfield, Hasbrouck Heights, Holmdel, Lawrenceville, Metuchen/Woodbridge, New Brunswick, Paramus, Parsippany, Ramsey, Secaucus and Weehawken, according to the labor department.

A.C.E. Restaurant Group was based in Saddle Brook, while another company were owned by Runestad operates two Houlihan’s in New York.

Between the 17 locations, there were 1,471 current and former employees affected, according to officials.

PARSIPPANY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement after testing positive for COVID-19: 

“This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am experiencing mild symptoms. I am thankful for having received both my COVID-19 vaccine and being current on my boosters for the additional protection they provide. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated and get your booster shot this fall.” 

Representative Mikie Sherrill’s district office is located at 8 Wood Hollow Road, Suite 203.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Sheriff’s Office has recently received multiple notifications from members of the public who have been targets of a phone scam.

The phone calls are from the phone number 973-291-2679, and an individual identifying themselves as “Sgt. Joe Caruso from the Morris County Sheriff’s Office”.

Each time the caller informs the victim that they have a “Failure to Appear” warrant(s) and could either turn themself in or pay a fine to avoid jail.

An investigation has revealed the phone number comes back to an address in North Carolina. Return phone calls to the number lead to voice mailbox for a “Sergeant Caruso”. Neither this individual nor the phone number are affiliated with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff James M. Gannon wants to remind you to NEVER provide sensitive personal information, money, or access to your assets to any unknown individual. If you have any questions about this advisement or need further guidance on this matter, please contact the Morris County Sheriff’s Office at (973) 285-6600.

PARSIPPANY — Morris County Sons of Italy – Lodge 2561 held its annual Members BBQ/Picnic this past Sunday, September 25 at Knoll Park in Lake Hiawatha.

The Brownstone once again grilled and prepared an abundant amount of all the usual picnic favorites and fixings for the event, chicken, burgers, dogs, salads, snacks, and much more. No one in the group of approximately seventy plus attendees left hungry! As a plus, it turned out to be a gorgeous, comfortable fall day despite the predicted threat of rain, and everyone had a great time getting together with new and old friends, either playing bocci or just enjoying each other’s company. The event is annually offered as a courtesy to all the Lodge’s members, their families and guests, and potential new members.

Knoll Park offered the perfect venue, with a large wooden covered seating area, with multiple picnic tables, and the availability of electricity for those interested to watch their favorite team lose (Go Jets) on the brand-new large screen television which was raffled off and won by one of our members at the end of the afternoon.

As usual, the Lodge also offered the opportunity for a 50/50 and several raffle prizes. As things were wrapping up for the day, out came a varied assortment of desserts, including of course, freshly made Italian style Zeppole covered in that beautiful, powered sugar.

The Lodge, which is a charity-based organization, holds many events throughout the year.  All proceeds from those events goes directly to various, local area charitable organizations. Upcoming Morris County Sons of Italy charitable endeavors include a Wine Tasting Evening at the Hanover Manor on October 20, which is co-sponsored with Kiwanis Greater Parsippany, their Annual Beefsteak and Comedy Night on November 19 at the Bloomingdale Fire Headquarters.

Additional information on these events can be found at their website, www.soi2561.org and/or on their Facebook page.