MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Twenty employees at a Third Ward restaurant are now out of work after they say new owners decided to temporarily close down without warning.

Some people who work here say they had no idea they were going to be fired when the new owners took over.

They say they were told about it on Tuesday after being led to believe they would keep their job with the ownership change. The Irish pub has been open since 2006. The new owners say they have maintenance problems to take care of and have to close it down.

The employees who lost their jobs say they’re upset being out of work but feel worse about being lied to.

“I’m sad we’ve also lost our jobs, but that’s not really the main part. It’s just about letting us go so fast and not telling us but in letters, while verbally saying our job is safe,” says former Irish Pub employee Stephanique Franks.

The owners say the former employees can reapply for jobs with the pub when it reopens.