Zachary's owner Christopher Boyd is running — from Athens, from creditors and from the law.
According to court documents, Boyd has dodged Ohio Department of Taxation investigations, breach-of-contract lawsuits, and stalled on payments to investors and employees.
Boyd, who in August opened a new Zachary's in Columbus, is in civil court again. A Columbus judge last month ordered him to pay more than $110,000 to Zanesville-based Unizan National Bank. Meanwhile, he has not paid rent for five months on the Athens property, owned by Smith Rentals at 30 N. Court St. Records also indicate owner Kenneth Smith issued the second eviction notice since 1995 to Boyd in March, and it continues to be ignored.
The future of the bar, known for its extensive menu of mixed drinks, is uncertain None of Zachary's operators will say whether the Uptown nightspot could close.
Pigskin Sports Bar doorman Jason Whitehead left Zachary's last quarter, frustrated by paycheck inadequacies. During Winter Quarter, Whitehead received four paychecks, and three fell as much as $60 short.
Whitehead worked about 20 hours a week at Zachary's and said other employees often received bounced checks. He said he was told the check issue would be resolved, but nothing ever materialized.
Without properly notifying Smith or the Athens City Code Office, Boyd spent more than $90,000 in 1992 alone for remodeling.
Athens Zachary's, having recently lost its deli option because of a broken refrigerator, was not meant to be a nightclub, said Smith in a 1995 deposition.
Boyd also last year faced two other civil suits for failure to pay investor Dayton Data Processing and contracted partner Nauman Outdoor Advertising, and said that Zachary's hired contractors who assured him no permit was necessary.
Boyd received the three-day notice to vacate Zachary's on March 18, 2003. Every month another $2,200 compiles. Since June, the total owed to Smith stands at $13,200.
"(Boyd and I) made an agreement that we would stay silent about this," Smith said.
Boyd could not be reached for comment.
Smith brought Boyd to court in 1995 because Zachary's violated the 1992 lease agreement by phasing out the restaurant/deli and installing a bar complete with cover charge and live bands every weekend.
Smith did agree to live bands after the lease signing, Boyd said. Had he said no, Boyd would not have been deterred.
Nor would he ask to run a bar. For fiscal year 1995, Zachary's grossed $350,000, with more than half of that stemming from alcohol sales, Boyd said.
Smith later charged Boyd with a lease violation with the introduction of live bands in January 1995. The louder music and alcohol brought more customers, resulting in more noise, said upstairs resident Catherine Patterson in 1995 deposition.
Vibrating plants and floors were cause for complaint, Patterson said. Phone calls to both Boyd and Zachary's employees accomplished little, she said.
"We would call down and they would say, 'we are working on it,' or 'this is how it's going to be on a Thursday night. It's loud. It's a band. We can't turn it down,'" Patterson said.
Eventually, Zachary's employees began refusing to listen to the upstairs residents' pleas for lower volumes, she said.
Zachary's did offer Patterson and her roommates' hotel rooms every weekend to curtail live band conflicts, she said. The offer was rejected.
Speakers were repositioned and insulation was added to Zachary's roof to cut down noise level, Boyd said.
"We never saw any proof of that," Patterson said. "We still couldn't go to sleep."
Live bands no longer play at Zachary's, but the floor and tables in the apartment still shake every night DJ music blares, said OU junior and resident Laura Comstock.
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