The Dawsonville Pool Room was seized by the Georgia Department of Revenue on Wednesday, May 9.

According to notices posted on the door of the restaurant, over $83,000 is owed to the state in back taxes and penalties. Gordon Pirkle, owner of the restaurant, said that he had thought the company, Lanier Vending, was making monthly payments.

"We were negotiating with them (the DOR)," Pirkle said. "I thought things were going well."

Pirkle, who was out of town at the time, said that the DOR agents entered the Pool Room around lunchtime Wednesday. "They made people pay for their lunches but they didn't get a chance to eat their food," he said. The agents seized the money found in the cash registers, safe and gaming machines.

Pirkle said that around the 2008-2009 time frame, the DOR seized his bank account for taxes owed. The Pool Room had to operate on a cash basis during that time frame. Pirkle said that, after a negotiation, the bank account was restored to him after approximately a month. "It was hard to operate then, but we made it," he said.

For now, Pirkle said that the DOR will allow them to enter the Pool Room at some point on May 10 to remove food items and personal belongings. "I'll know more after we talk with them then," he said.

Jud Seymour, spokesperson for the DOR, said that negotiations would be the next step in the process. "They would just enter negotiations with the department," he said. "Once negotiations are entered, it would be between them and the department as to what is worked out, and what the agreements are."

Seymour said that it is entirely dependent on what deal is worked out as to when the Pool Room may re-open again.

Read the May 16 edition of the News & Advertiser for further information.