More details have been uncovered in the closure of Murfreesboro's oldest restaurant. According to tax documents, 14 federal tax liens have been filed against the owner of the City Cafe, Scott Perkins, since he bought the business from Garry and Pat Simpson in 2007. The liens total over 88-thousand dollars. State tax liens are sealed under a state law which keeps them private.
Last Wednesday, state Department of Revenue officials ushered lunchtime customers out and closed the doors to the business and placed a note about the property seizure. Perkins, in a note placed on the window beside the one the state posted, denies he owes money, plans to fight the seizure and that the facts are on his side. It's unclear when or if the 112 year old City Cafe will re-open. Scott Perkins owns the restaurant and his parents, Rusty and Cindy Perkins, own the East Main Street building where it's been for many years.