LYNCHBURG — The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control held a hearing Tuesday for Bronx Boys Bagels, which is charged with owing the city of Danville more than $7,000 in meals taxes that the business’ owners said they couldn’t pay on time because of diving sales due to the economy.
An administrative hearing officer for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control heard evidence Tuesday. The officer will review the evidence and fix punishment, if any, at a later date.
Bronx Boy received a 2007 license to sell beer and wine at its restaurant at 316 Main St., accord-ing to testimony Tuesday.
The restaurant fell behind on its meals tax payments in early 2009, said David Giffen, an auditor for the Commissioner of Revenue’s Danville office. Giffen said the business paid taxes for January through August late and owes meals tax payments for September, October, November and De-cember.
No one representing Bronx Boy attended the hearing Tuesday, and the owners also face charges in Danville General District Court.
During an interview after the hearing, Stephen Salamon, an owner, acknowledged the late and missing payments. Salamon said the bagel shop would pay the taxes on time, if they could.
But business has slowed so badly because of the recession that Bronx Boy has trouble paying bills, he said. Salamon said they’ve kept their seven employees through the last six months, which squeezes their budget even more as customers wane.
“At the same time we’ve been losing business, our own prices that we pay to our vendors … have gone up,” Salamon said. “You put that whole scenario together, and it paints a very bleak picture for small businesses.”
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