Ice House Remains Closed
Restaurant, Bar Owes Sales Taxes, State Official Says
Last updated Tuesday, July 8, 2008 7:13 PM CDT in News
By Anna Fry
The Morning News
BENTONVILLE - The Ice House remained closed Tuesday after the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration closed the business Thursday.
The department issued a closing order June 25 because the restaurant and bar owed state sales taxes. Such an order requires that a business default on three months' taxes in a 24-month period, said Tom Atchley, an excise tax administrator with the Department of Finance and Administration. The three months don't have to be consecutive.
Liens have been filed against the business for $24,104.25 in state, county and city taxes owed, said Shelia Woods, the assistant manager of the sales and use tax section of the department. The total amount owed may be higher because the business closing process works faster than lien filing, she said.
She said she couldn't disclose the total amount of taxes The Ice House owed.
Christy Martin is listed as the business owner on tax documents. Martin did not return a phone message left for her at The Ice House on Tuesday afternoon.
The gray and brick building at 406 S.E. Fifth St. in Bentonville was empty. Someone had torn parts of pink signs announcing its closing on the glass entrance doors.
Closed businesses usually can open only after they've paid their debt in full, Woods said.
The Ice House owes the Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission taxes for March, April and May, said Kalene Griffith, the president of the commission. The commission collects a 1 percent sales tax on prepared foods.
The commission doesn't know how much The Ice House owes because businesses report their sales, but the restaurant paid $54.45 in January and $37.59 in December, Griffith said.
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