New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Restaurant closing leaves patrons with worthless gift cards
State attorney general's office may be able to help
BRANFORD — The sudden closing of the U.S.S. Chowder Pot III on March 3 has left customers holding worthless gift cards.
Elaine Smith gave everyone in her family a card for Christmas, spending $650.
“I have the receipt. Thank God I kept it,” the East Haven resident said.
“I'll tell you, I was shocked when we got the word,” she said. “He didn't give a notice, nothing.”
The restaurant, a landmark for four decades at 560 E. Main St., closed abruptly, leaving staff and customers wondering what happened.
“With a heavy heart, I have to announce the closing of our doors today,” chef and owner John Bencivengo Jr. announced on Facebook in early March. Bencivengo could not be reached for comment.
The Office of the Attorney General is working on behalf of consumers to try and recoup losses.
“We have received multiple complaints from Chowder Pot
III customers and are working with the restaurant to request refunds on behalf of consumers,” Elizabeth Benton, chief of communications and policy, said in an email.
“If you have a Chowder Pot III gift card that you have been unable to use, you can file a complaint online with our office and we will get that information over to the restaurant,” she said.
Benton said there is no way to know how many gift cards are outstanding.
Smith made the purchase with her debit card. She is trying to determine how many gift cards have been used and how many still have money on them. Her bank advised her that “It's possible I might get money back,” Smith said. “Even if I got half, I'd be happy.”
Benton reiterated this. “Customers should contact their credit card companies,” she wrote. “In some instances, they may be able to provide a refund.”
Members of Sheryl Casey's family have been loyal customers for years. Her family also purchased gift cards.
“My husband and my daughter, they'd go there all the time,” the Guilford resident said.
Casey's husband purchased a $75 card for a friend about a week before the restaurant closed, she said. Her daughter also received one as a Christmas gift from her grandmother.
“No disrespect to anybody, but I just don't see somebody getting up one day and saying, ‘Oh, hey, I'm closing my doors,'” she said.
“If you had an idea, maybe you shouldn't have been selling them anymore because now they're useless to these people,” she said. “We put money out for them.”
Alyssa Miller's family are big fans of the restaurant.
“My family has been going there for three generations,” said the Westbrook resident whose favorite was prime rib with lobster tail.
After taking her boyfriend for his first meal at the restaurant in August, “He fell in love with it,” she said. So, she purchased a $100 gift card for his parents as a Christmas present.
“It would have been nice if they told me that they were closing so that people had a chance to use their gift cards,” she said. “There was no heads up.”
Smith said she has given gift cards over the years, but “Now I'm afraid.”
To learn more about gift card laws, visit https://portal.ct.gov/ AG/Consumer-Issues/OtherConsumer-Information/All-AboutGift-Cards.