Pasta Pomodoro, a popular Bay Area restaurant chain, closed all 15 locations permanently on the day after Christmas and without a warning to hundreds of workers.
Employees said they were notified by text message, and now they're scrambling to find work.
Some of the workers are considering a lawsuit, while others just want their last check and an explanation.
"We had no idea what to do," one employee said. "We had no idea what was going on."
Workers said they were not given an explanation of why the restaurant chain is ceasing operations. All they knew was suddenly they were jobless.
"It's just hard being a college student and not notified you're going to lose your job," another employee said. "And not enough time for any of us to find another job right away."
The closure was an even bigger shock to longtime customers who saw constant crowds in the restaurant and believed business was good.
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"I actually walked up on it because I wanted to go to dinner," customer Maya Lai said. "That was the day after Christmas."
Lai said the staff is like family, and she's crushed some of them may have a difficult time paying bills to survive.
"We talk with everybody, and we met half the neighborhood here," Lai said.
The restaurant owners did not answer attempts to reach them.
Some employees will return to the restaurants this Friday, but only to pick up their final paycheck.
