AUSTIN, Texas — The sudden closure of a popular Austin catering company is sending dozens of couples scrambling to find someone else to do the job just weeks before their weddings.
What's supposed to be one of the best days of their lives for Skyler Seeno and her fiancé, Sam Spears, has turned into a nightmare.
“Two weeks before our wedding, that's kind of the time where you're focusing on the final details,” Seeno said. “Now we're literally trying to find a new caterer to provide food and bartenders and servers.”
Last Wednesday, Royal Fig Catering's owner, Dan Stacy, emailed Seeno and other clients that the business would be closing immediately, saying it is going through an acquisition with another company.
“How are we supposed to find someone that's gonna be able to meet all of the requirements that we've already agreed to in this contract?” Seeno said after reading the email.
The couple has been planning their wedding for more than a year, and Spears said Royal Fig was one of the first things they booked.
“It’s a $7,000 deposit, but then we had to update our rental order, which tacked on another $2,000. We're $9,500 to $10,000 in the hole just for this,” Spears said.
According to Spears, Royal Fig was at the top of every preferred vendor list at any wedding venue they saw. That's why they picked them – and so did Joel Annoni and Renee Worley.
“You have such confidence in a business in this town that’s highly regarded and then out of nowhere, you show up to their doorstep and they're closed and abandoned,” Annoni said.
The couple is now out more than $9,000 just 40 days before their wedding. Worley said her parents, one of whom is suffering from health issues, gave her the money. Now they probably won’t see it again.
“I’m very lucky that my parents are helping us out, but my parents have had to save for a decade to be able to help us with this," Worley said. "We don't come from money. This is a huge hit."
KVUE reached out to Stacy at Royal Fig, who responded that the business experienced a sales tax audit where it owed more than expected.
In his statement, Stacy said he applied for a loan to pay the debt and continued to operate the business as normal until it was approved in August. He said he then got scammed, where money was taken out of the company's bank account by the lender, forcing the business to close immediately.
Stacy said he has connected clients with other caterers who can take on their service, but “doesn't have the means to pay anyone back." He also said he never intended for this to happen and that he's deeply sorry about the situation.
Seeno and Spears said they feel deceived by Stacy.
“By the time that it got to our wedding day, they were so far in the trenches with whatever they're dealing with financially that it was dishonest and wrong of them to accept our contract in the first place,” Spears said.
"It's more so frustrating to know that there's people in the world that are so selfish that they don't think about the consequences of their actions on other people," Seeno added,
Worley said she's heartbroken for herself and other brides in this situation. She created a GoFundMe for any couple struggling to pay a new deposit for catering.
“We're really just trying to see if we can just all rally together and at least make something good about the situation because it's like, this is like a nightmare,” Worley said.
Stacy said Royal Fig will be filing for bankruptcy soon, and clients wanting to get their money back can pursue a claim. He also referred all of his staff to other catering companies for new jobs.
Here's the full statement from Stacy:
“I never imagined or intended that Royal Fig would end in such an abrupt and devastating way. I was able to build this company with the help of so many amazing staff and supportive vendors I met along the way. I am honored to have been a part of thousands of memorable events over the past 15 years. I’m deeply sorry for how this situation has affected my staff and clients with upcoming events. I hope that in light of this, that everyone still has an amazing wedding day.” - Dan Stacy