Employees of AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, a Michelin-recognized restaurant in Denver, have shut down the business while the owner is reportedly out of the country, citing their outrage over what they say are improper tax practices, reports Denver Gazette news partner 9NEWS.

Former workers claim owner Jared Leonard has been deducting taxes from their paychecks but failing to report them to the government. The closure happened without the owner’s permission, according to both the employees and Leonard.

Patrick Klaiber, a pitmaster who proudly sports a tattoo of the Michelin recognition the restaurant received, was among the staff who decided to close the doors. “When we found out he was taking taxes from us, we made a collective decision as a restaurant to shut the doors on him,” Klaiber told 9NEWS.

Former employees allege that Leonard has been in Mexico for approximately four months, where he operates another AJ’s restaurant. During his time away, staff members say they recently discovered irregularities with their pay.

They believe taxes were taken out of their pay, and were never actually reported. “My taxes were really inconsistent from the pay stubs I do have,” former employee Brianna Kane said. Workers also reported receiving payments through various digital platforms rather than through formal payroll systems. Klaiber said over the last several months, employees began receiving payment via Venmo, Zelle, wire transfer, and Apple Pay.

He said the paycheck was inconsistent, and then they started to question if the rest of their pay was accurate. The allegations extend beyond AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q. Multiple employees, including from Leonard’s restaurant Campfire in Evergreen, claim they haven’t received their W-2 tax forms.

“I’m a single mom and so my taxes should have been adjusted accordingly,” Melissa Wolf, former assistant manager at Campfire Evergreen, said. “He was taking a third of my paycheck each week as taxes, and it seems like none of those taxes were paid. I don’t have a W-2. I don’t have any pay stubs to track where the money was going, or proof that it was being paid into payroll taxes.”

Leonard responded to an inquiry from 9NEWS, via text, claiming that workers closed AJ’s without his permission, “leaving thousands of dollars of food to waste, & a business without income.”

He claimed the employee-initiated closure was intended to cause financial stress to him and his family. “This was all done with the sole intent to cause financial stress & damage to me & my family – with no regard to at least some of the staff, the landlord, the business, the vendors, the customers, the special event that we paid to promote for (the day after the closure), & any other person that relies on the business to be open,” he told 9NEWS.

Court documents show there have been financial struggles for Leonard in recent months. Leonard acknowledged he’s “not a perfect business owner” but insisted he has “never done anything intentionally to harm the staff.”

However, Leonard did not respond to questions about his plans to return from Mexico or about the tax withholding allegations, In the meantime, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q is closed, with a sign placed on the door by employees.

For now, several former employees, including Klaiber, are planning their next moves in the industry. “We’re gonna go do it somewhere else and win another one,” Klaiber said, referring to the prestigious Michelin recognition. “We want to open our own and do it right,” Gabriel O’Day, a former general manager at Campfire, said. “Learn from this and learn how to do better. Something beautiful in the ashes of his failure.”

The Denver Gazette attempted to reach Leonard for comment on Sunday, but reporters were blocked by the owner on social media.