The money, they said, might not be there to continue operation. Payroll was in question, following months of uncertainty, and to make matters worse, they'd discovered two tax liens filed by the state of California against the restaurant for a total of $530,000, related to loans against the business taken out by the owner and principal investor, Stephen Light. A collections notice had arrived in December.
Horses, Hollywood's former hotspot that became embroiled in a public marital breakdown involving two of its partners in 2023, is closing. First reported by L.A. Taco, a sign on the restaurant door stated that it would close temporarily on December 24 for repairs. One day later, the Los Angeles Times chimed in, suggesting the restaurant faces an uncertain future due to State of California tax liens against its parent company, Horses Holdings LLC, filed on December 10 and 26, that total almost $530,000.
The trail of debts - and claims made trying to collect them - that dogged Jim Justice well before he became West Virginia's two-term Republican governor has ballooned since the former billionaire became a U.S. senator earlier this year. Justice was elected last November to the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Joe Manchin, a Democrat who became an independent in 2024 near the end of his second full term. Justice, who owns dozens of businesses that include coal and agricultural operations, had a fortune estimated at $1.9 billion last decade by Forbes magazine.