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Mayo's forced to close -- for now
Bruce Matlock photo
Mayo's owner Sheryl Toukola joined her employees at a car wash Tuesday.
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Published: August 12, 2009
The trouble started when Sheryl Toukola wanted to change the name of her restaurant.
While Mayo's Ristorante and Lounge on North Center Street has been a fixture in downtown Statesville for years, something about the name has never quite sat right with Toukola.
Her late husband, Risto Toukola, vetoed any plans Sheryl came up with to change it over the years.
Risto died in a plane crash in December 2007. And since that time, Toukola knew Mayo's would eventually have a new name. Several months ago, she decided that name was going to be one that honored her husband.
But when Toukola did some preliminary investigating into how to go about turning Mayo's into Risto's, she inadvertently alerted N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officials to problems with the eatery's liquor license.
"This is what you get for trying to do the right thing," Toukola said.
It turns out Mayo's had operated as a corporation, with Risto named as its only officer.
And, according to ALE Special Agent Guy Schliewenz, "When he died, the corporation ceased to exist."
Last Friday the ALE informed Toukola that, effective immediately, she could not sell alcohol at the restaurant until the matter was resolved. So she shut down Mayo's.
Schliewenz said, from a legal standpoint, the matter was not a serious one.
"It's not like they did anything wrong," he said. "This is more like an in-house administrative matter they needed to take care of."
Indeed, Toukola said she could have kept the restaurant open as long as soda, juice and water were the only beverages being served.
"I can still sell food here," she said. "But I don't want to have to explain all this to the customers every time they sit down."
Besides, Toukola added, "I don't want to put any more money into Mayo's. My focus is on opening Risto's."
Marin Tomlin, executive director of the Downtown Statesville Development Corporation, said she was happy to hear about the forthcoming changes.
"I think it's wonderful and exciting news," Tomlin said. "I think Sheryl does a great business and what she is proposing can only make the downtown better. Also, it's a great way to pay tribute to her husband."
Toukola met with ALE officials Monday and was told the process would take about a week or so to clear up.
In the meantime, she has 10 full-time employees who rely on the business for their paychecks. On Tuesday, she held a car wash in the parking lot next to the restaurant.
"I'm going to try to find things for them to do until we get through this," Toukola said.
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