This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two Sandy restaurants closed for business Monday, leaving more than 120 people without employment.
The Mayan Adventure and Spaghetti Mama's, owned and operated by SLC3 LLC, leased space from the Larry H. Miller Group at the Jordan Commons for the past three years.
John Davie, director of operations for SLC3, said he was as surprised as other employees to see the businesses close so suddenly.
Rumors of the closure spread Sunday night among some of the employees. The rumors were confirmed Monday morning.
Hope McCurdy, an aerialist at the restaurant, worked her last shift Saturday and was scheduled to work again Thursday. "There was no indication the Mayan was going to close. We had no idea," McCurdy said, adding she was heart-broken because it was more than just a job for her. "It was a family. All the entertainers, we were all so very close."
Monday evening Davie was working on getting the space cleaned.
The Mayan was a 700-plus seat Mexican food restaurant that offered live entertainment, including divers and fire dancers.
Jay Francis, executive vice president of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, said the closure has to do with a "tough economy."
Francis said the Miller group tried to run the venue in the past for several years but it proved to be a "tough nut to crack."
"It has been an uphill battle lately for [ the owner of SLC3]," Francis said. "We reached a point in our contract that it was just good timing for us to just make this mutual decision to make some changes."
Francis said Greg Miller, CEO of the Miller Group, offered those who lost jobs at the restaurants employment within the company's Megaplex theater operation.
Some of the employees had worked for the Miller Group back when the company ran the restaurant, Francis added.
As for not giving employees notice of the closure, Francis said it was a decision of the operator, SLC3.
The Miller Group has plans to repurpose the Mayan space by adding at least two more movie screens, and banquet and hospitality space. The Mayan space is connected to the Megaplex 17 theater at the site. The company is also looking to see if it is possible also to add some retail space for food options.
"We'll probably know in the next week or two what were going to do," Francis said, adding that the company knows the theater business well.
The Spaghetti Mama's space will remain a restaurant. Francis said the company has two to three restaurateurs looking at the space as potential tenants.
"The best of all worlds would've been that they were successful and they were doing well," Francis said of the closed businesses. "I hate to see anybody have to close their doors because it is not working."