OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – An Omaha restaurant announced Sunday afternoon that they are complying with a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Fernando’s Omaha said in a press release sent Sunday that they were given a subpoena from the DHS requesting documentation of their employees.
The restaurant said they have fully cooperated with the inquiry.
Fernando’s Cafe and Catina says the subpoena has resulted in the departure of some workers, and will affect business hours and service levels. The restaurant plans on providing updates via social media channels as they navigate the subpoena.
First Alert 6 spoke with the owner on Monday afternoon, who confirmed that they cooperated with DHS — and that a number of employees were terminated as a result of the subpoena.
Mitch Tempus took ownership of Fernando’s eight years ago. He told First Alert 6 that the restaurant isn’t facing any legal trouble after the employee compliance review, and that there were no raids at either of the restaurant’s locations.
“I just want everyone to understand that we weren’t raided, we weren’t — like people weren’t ripped out of here,” Tempus said. “Homeland Security has come in. They did their thing. We complied to do what they asked us to do, and the result was they came back and told us we had to terminate some employees.”
Tempus said it’s a difficult time for everyone involved, and they are looking to hire more employees.
The restaurants were temporarily closed on Monday; but one location, at 114th and Dodge, did reopen Tuesday for dine-in customers.
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Digital Director Gina Dvorak contributed to this report.
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