COVINGTON, Ky. — It's a Northern Kentucky restaurant mystery.
Lisse Steakhuis in Covington's MainStrasse district closed suddenly over the summer with no notice to customers, leaving gift cardholders uncertain about what to do with their remaining balances.
And the restaurant has posted no information about what cardholders can do.
Nancy Bertline is among them. She received a $100 gift certificate to Lisse last Christmas from her children and was saving it for a special occasion.
"We thought this is cool. We'll wait until July when it's our anniversary, and we'll go to dinner," she said.
When Bertline called to make a reservation, no one answered.
"We called and nobody answered, so we went to leaving a message, seeing about getting a reservation. Nobody bothered to call us back," she said.
She didn't know the restaurant had suddenly closed in July.
WATCH as we track down help for customers with Lisse gift cards:
No response or help from restaurant
So we looked for answers and found none at the 100-year-old, three-story white building that housed Lisse.
The restaurant appeared frozen in time, with half-filled liquor bottles still on the bar, no note on the door, and no information on Facebook or its website for gift cardholders as of Sept. 2.
The website even appeared to still be accepting reservations for the now-closed restaurant.
Bertline said no one returned multiple voicemails she left or an email she sent.
"I emailed them, trying to get a response if they are going to do anything. What can I do?" she said. "I got nothing back."
Searching for a solution
Lisse did not respond to voicemail or email.
So we did some digging, but could not reach owner and founder Hans Philippo at several other restaurants and businesses he owns. Employees said he was out of town.
However, a manager at one of Philippo's other restaurants — Bouquet Bistro, just down the street — confirmed they will accept Lisse gift cards.
That is good news for Bertline, who can now use her gift card for an anniversary dinner.
But she remains concerned about other customers who have heard nothing and believes Lisse should post information for cardholders on its Facebook page.
"That's what I would hope, that they could do something for myself and everybody else," she said.
There is a lesson here for anyone with cards to other dining establishments: If you have a gift card to a restaurant, especially a small local restaurant, try to use it as soon as possible.
Don't tuck it away for six months or a year, just in case something goes wrong (or you forget about it), so you don't waste your money.
_________________________________________
"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").
Follow John:
- Facebook: John Matarese Money
- Instagram: @johnmataresemoney
- X/Twitter: @JohnMatarese
Follow Taylor:
- Facebook: Taylor Nimmo
- Instagram: @tnimms
- X/Twitter: @tnimms
For more consumer news and money-saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
