Downtown restaurant closes, state places lien on property

TreBenzios, a downtown Wilmington restaurant and lounge at 141 N. Front St. that officials say closed its doors in late September, is now being targeted by the state for failure to pay sales taxes, according to a state official.

Four large yellow signs were placed on the downtown property’s entrance Tuesday morning requesting that vendors contact the N.C. Department of Revenue for further inquiries into the closure.

Beth Stevenson, director of public affairs for the N.C. Department of Revenue, confirmed Tuesday that on Sept. 26 the agency placed a lien on the property.

Stevenson said with the lien, officials plan to hold an auction to sell the business’s personal property to recoup the amount of sales taxes owed to the state. She said an auction date has not been set.