Old School Café falls on hard times; appeals to customers and public for help
“The support from the community has been a blessing. It has really lifted our spirits and inspired us to fight the good fight and do everything we can to come back better than ever. We have hired a lawyer. Long story short we have been accused of not paying our sales tax as agreed upon. When we presented them with the evidence instead of admitting their over site and reverse their decision they decided to make an example out of us. We are posting this because of all the inquiries and to avoid any rumors. Please feel free to share this information to help aid in the understanding of our situation. Special thanks to the Dubois County Bombers, Overtime and Spudz and Stuff for helping us through these difficult times and also thanks to all the anonymous donors which will be used to help pay legal fees. God bless.”
The above appears to be an appeal to customers who may have been surprised to find the Old School Café closed recently with a notice from the State of Indiana posted to the front door.
The poster on the door states the business is in violation of Indiana Code 6-2.5-9.2 and if it conducts any business, is committing a Class B misdemeanor.
County records at the Dubois County Clerk’s Office indicate Ahlemeier is behind in paying taxes; mainly sales taxes and a relatively small amount of employee payroll taxes. When he refers to a payment schedule with the State in the above statement, this is what he means; he is currently making payments on about $24,000 in unpaid taxes and fines levied by the State.
According to Ahlemeier (who spoke to us over Facebook Messenger and provided digital copies of his checks to the State), he has been making payments to the Indiana Department of Revenue since May of this year as part of an agreement to pay off the taxes he owed from as far back as 2012.
Ahlemeier says the back taxes are the result of hardships he has endured over the past few years. “People fall on hard times,” Ahlemeier asserted. “There were several factors; mainly doctor and medical bills. People who know me, know there were times when I could not work.”
According to Ahlemeier, he was unable to work while he was laid up in bed with nerve damage to his back for a period. “I still suffer from chronic back pain,” he said.
The money went to bills and living expenses.
Ahlemeier is puzzled by the state closing his business and maintains that he has made the payments according to what the State agreed to. In response to the state’s actions, he has hired Phoenix Financial Group to represent a case he says he is taking to the state. “It is costing me over $1,000 a week in lost revenue plus lawyer fees,” he said.
Ahlemeier opened the Old School Café in 2009 at its current location on Fourth Street. Abiding by the unspoken credo of “have grill, will travel”, he has always been apt to show up at any public event to grill the store’s signature dishes.
He also provides eats at League Stadium for the Dubois County Bombers home games since the new local ownership took over the franchise.
He and his family and their restaurant are well-liked in the community. So much so that other businesses have stepped up to help in Ahlemeier’s troubled time.
Last Thursday, The Overtime, another restaurant on Fourth Street, filled in for Ahlemeier for the Bombers home game.
Over the weekend, David Tucker, the owner of Spudz-n-Stuff, another Huntingburg restaurant, offered to dedicate 15 percent of his business sales on “Spudz Day” to Ahlemeier to help out with his legal fees. “Spudz Day” is a Tuesday tradition by the company in which customers can dedicate 15 percent of their bill towards an organization Spudz-N-Stuff is supporting that day.
“Even though I am not behind on my taxes, I know how hard it is for me and other small businesses,” Tucker said.
Spudz-N-Stuff is located at 501 N. Washington St. and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Customers who dine at the restaurant or order carry out during Spudz Days on Tuesday, June 30, can choose to apply 15 percent of their bill to help Ahlemeier. Orders can be placed by phone or online at www.spudznstuff.com.
“God has a plan and anything is possible,” Ahlemeier said. “I love my family very much and have faith it will all work out.”
A Go-Fund-Me page has been established for the business with the goal of raising $20,000.
Mr. Ahlemeier does not seem like the victim here to me, and he is blaming everyone but himself. Ahlemeier is the one who did not pay the taxes. I see that other companies and individuals are giving Ahlemeier money and hopefully he has plans to pay them back after he gets up and running again.
It’s the states job to close a business if that business does not pay taxes. If they allowed him to stay open then other businesses might stop paying their taxes and then you have chaos.
I can’t imagine Indiana would lose the checks and not send some kind of warning. Furthermore, if it were me, and I was behind on my taxes, I would be calling the state all the time to make sure they got the check(s).
I have eaten at Old School many times and it’s good food. I hope this issues can be resolved and they open again.
Alan Washington, You make some pretty forceful statements regarding the situation with the Old School Cafe. I find it interesting that a business owner such as yourself is so willing to pass judgement on another small business owner without knowing the full details of the situation. It appears that you only know what you read in the Dubois County Free Press. You seem pretty quick to judge without knowing the whole story. I only hope that if you found yourself or your business in need of community support that the residents and business owners of Santa Claus would be as willing to assist you as the residents and business owners of Huntingburg are willing to assist the Old School Cafe. That willingness to do whatever they can to help should have been an indication to you that the business owners you are so quick to condemn may very possibly be speaking the truth. Sir you also seem to be quite naive if you actually believe that a government agency always lives up to the agreements they enter into. Mike Sibrel, Newburgh, IN