The operator of The Barn Restaurant in Waynesboro was arrested this week following a grand jury indictment on his failure to pay city food and beverage taxes.
Signs hanging on the front of the East Main Street establishment say the business is closed and requests no one trespass on the property.
Calvin Edward Wilkerson III is being held at Middle River Regional Jail on the latest charges against him of four felony embezzlement charges for failing to pay city food and beverage taxes.
Wilkerson is now facing eight felony embezzlement charges for failing to pay the taxes and four misdemeanor charges of failing to file food and beverage tax reports with the city.
Waynesboro Commonwealth’s Attorney David Ledbetter said Wilkerson had been released on bond in July after previously being charged with four counts of felony embezzlement of failing to pay food and beverage taxes, and four misdemeanor charges of failing to make reports to the city of Waynesboro regarding food and beverage taxes.
According to a criminal complaint against Wilkerson filed in Waynesboro Circuit Court in June by Waynesboro Commissioner of the Revenue Sabrina von Schilling, Wilkerson had submitted the food and beverage taxes for the years of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The commissioner of the revenue said the monthly average of those taxes exceeded $1,000.
Von Schilling said in her complaint that Wilkerson failed to file reports of the tax collections for February, March, April and May of this year.
Ledbetter submitted a criminal complaint in June alleging that Wilkerson had failed to pay the food and beverage taxes to the city for the same months von Schilling alluded to.
A Waynesboro grand jury indicted Wilkerson this month on four new charges of embezzlement for failing to pay food and beverage taxes in the months since the original charges.
Wilkerson’s case has been assigned to a public defender, Ledbetter said. He is next due in court on Dec. 17 for a hearing on the most recent embezzlement charges.
The legal woes for Wilkerson may not end with unpaid city taxes. Carolyn Swanson, a former employee, won a default judgment for nearly $6,500 on Oct. 16 against Wilkerson and the restaurant, CEWIIIBurgers LLC, after several paychecks to her allegedly bounced. It appears Swanson’s attorney is seeking to satisfy the debt through a garnishment; a hearing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 18.
A year ago, The Barn was featured on “America’s Best Restaurants” which showcased its signature fried chicken and loaded footlong hot dog. The web series offers businesses major marketing perks including tv-quality production and a social media blitz as part of a promotion aimed at putting independent restaurants on the map.
The Barn featured an old-fashioned jukebox and cutouts of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley inside.
In addition to the fried chicken, the menu included burgers, pork barbecue and Greek gyros.
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ABR video: The Barn Restaurant
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