Through the windows of a Black-Eyed Pea location in North Texas you'll see, the menus are stacked and the floors are clean.
The patrons have come hungry.
"I like the food, yeah. Home-cooking-type food," says long-time patron Gerald Smith.
But the Black-Eyed Pea restaurant on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth won't be serving lunch Wednesday, or, likely, any time soon. The signs on the door say the restaurant is temporarily closed.
"I'm just sad it's closing," says Barbi Buchanan, who showed up to eat there Wednesday. "I don't know why it's closing."
In fact, a manager at the Arlington Highlands location told us her location is the only Black-Eyed Pea that remains open in all of Texas, but referred us to the corporate office for any comments. No one answered at that number when WFAA tried to call.
Another manager, this one an assistant general manager at a closed location, was more forthcoming.
"On Sunday I got a phone call about 9:30 p.m. We close at 9," she explains. "And [I] was told we are temporarily closed and that I need to call all my employees and let them know not to come in on Monday morning."
The woman has worked for Black-Eyed Pea for 12 years, she says, moving her way up from server to assistant general manager. She spoke to us on condition we didn't reveal her identity. A text she says she received from a district manager reveals how grave the situation may be, telling her to file for unemployment.
Wednesday, she says, was supposed to be payday for employees, but no one got paid.
"Rent’s due, they have bills due, and they might not be able to make their payments," she says.
The company has yet to release any official statement about why this is all happening, but we do know the parent company Restaurant Acquisitions I, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and creditors continue to file motions in court.
"Black-Eyed Pea was one of our favorites," Buchanan says. "I'm just devastated it's closing!"
People continued to show up to the Camp Bowie location Wednesday, and were shocked to find the signs on the windows and the doors locked.
They're forlorn about what's become of their favorite restaurant.