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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > July > 18 > Entry
Cash-strapped Seeger’s in trouble with tax man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Seeger’s, one of only 13 U.S. restaurants that holds a five-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide, has reopened after an unscheduled hiatus earlier this month. Now Buzz has learned of a possible factor in that surprising closing: On July 6, a $265,923.11 lien for non-payment of taxes was recorded in Fulton County.
Charles Willey, Georgia Department of Revenue spokesman, said that filing a tax lien is a last resort. “Before we get to this stage, three separate correspondences are made between us and the taxpayer in an attempt to resolve the debt,” Willey said. “A lien is only imposed if the taxpayer fails to take action.”
In recent weeks, we’ve heard rumblings throughout the local restaurant industry questioning the financial stability of the Buckhead dining destination and its namesake Guenter Seeger, mentor to many of the city’s finest chefs.
Simone Rathle, Seeger’s Washington-based publicist, said Monday that a liquor license issue resulted in the restaurant’s closing this month and said she was unaware of the lien. At press time Monday, Seeger had not returned a phone call seeking comment.
The lien doesn’t necessarily indicate any immediate consequences for Seeger’s, Willey said, but would be an issue if the business were sold or if it sought a bank loan.
Last year, Seeger’s closed for a major face-lift by interior designer Bill Johnson. When it reopened, the number of tables had shrunk even as the already ultra-high-end eatery’s prices swelled.
Last week, Buzz received an e-mail touting a limited-time, relatively economical $85 three-course menu special being offered by the restaurant.
‘Love to Hate’ Peach Buzz?
We’re been known to flick through Atlanta free weekly Sunday Paper on the Sabbath, if only to see which clients local publicist Caren West is subtly spotlighting in her “In the Know” column or to catch up on the “Spider-Man” comic strip. This week, we had a whole new reason to covet SP. This very column clocked in at No. 17 in “The 50 Things We Love to Hate About Atlanta” cover story.
Yup, Buzz was mentioned right next to Sir Elton, Jane Fonda, Neal Boortz — three of our favorite subjects — and traffic gridlock. Wrote SP: “We admit it: We read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s entertainment column every day — and immediately feel dirty for reveling in Richard Eldridge’s [sic] unabashed love of star sightings, name-dropping and celebrity sleaze. Anyone that obsessed with Star Jones Reynolds needs counseling, but we hope he doesn’t get it anytime soon — where would we get our fix?”
Our goal for our second decade on the Buzz beat? To teach SP how to spell the name correctly. Sheesh, we’re starting to understand how Boortz feels.
Kinda.
Overscene
Hip-hop artist KRS-One and graffiti writer-artist Zephyr dining at the Real Chow Baby. … Former “Living Single” actor T.C. Carson taking in a performance of “Three Sistahs” at the Horizon Theatre in Little Five Points over the weekend.
One for the road
Ol’ Blue Eyes and his favorite ivory tickler, Bill Miller, are now reunited at that Sands Copa Room in the sky. As you may have seen in an Associated Press obit, Miller, Frank Sinatra’s 40-year pianist, passed on last week at age 91. While we had the pleasure of watching the ever-understated Miller play just once, it was nice to see the veteran player get a deserving send-off over the weekend with various media tributes.
Think you’ve never heard Miller’s work? He’s the guy playing that haunting accompaniment on Sinatra’s now-classic saloon song “One for My Baby (and One for the Road),” found on the crooner’s deliciously depressing, post-Ava Gardner groundbreaking 1958 concept album, “Only the Lonely.”
Still on tour last month with Frank Sinatra Jr. in Atlantic City, N.J., Miller served as a colorful supporting character in a lengthy profile of Sinatra Jr. in The Washington Post this month. As Miller sat nearby nursing a highball, Sinatra Jr. said of his father’s longtime collaborator in the Post: “He’s the greatest singer’s pianist there ever was.”
For Brad, it’s all about being dad
“I’m so tired of thinking about myself. I’m kinda sick of myself.”
So says new father, global do-gooder and celeb mag cover mainstay Brad Pitt, who told NBC’s “Today” show in an interview aired Monday that being a father has really changed his priorities.
Pitt and his partner, actress Angelina Jolie, have three children: 6-week-old Shiloh, 18-month-old Zahara and 4-year-old Maddox.
“You know, you can write a book, you can make a movie, you can draw, paint a painting,” said Pitt, “but having kids is really the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever taken on.”
Celeb birthdays
Director Paul Verhoeven (“Basic Instinct,” “Showgirls”) is 68. Actor James Brolin is 66. Country singer Ricky Skaggs is 52. Keyboardist John Hermann of Widespread Panic is 44. Actor Vin Diesel is 39.
Contributing: news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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