Secret Sandwich Society closed over unpaid taxes following litigation between brand, location owners

Oct 22, 2025 - 16:25

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A restaurant in downtown Richmond closed this week over unpaid taxes following litigation between the brand owners and location owners.

During the week of Oct 22, the Secret Sandwich Society in downtown Richmond -- located at 401 E. Grace Street -- was closed by the Virginia Department of Taxation, due to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid taxes. This comes amid litigation between the business’s current operators and the owners of the restaurant brand.

A sign posted on the front door, dated Monday, Oct. 20, of the restaurant, stated that Society Hospitality LLC is responsible for $119,419.14 in back taxes.

(Photo: Paul Nevadomski, 8News)

"This business has been closed and its property has been distrained for nonpayment of Virginia taxes for which a Memorandum of Lien has been recorded," the sign from the Department of Taxation reads.

This news comes more than eight months after the location owners announced in a social post on Feb. 14 that they had recently terminated the license for the Richmond Secret Society location and demanded that they stop operating as a branded result due to that license termination.

(Photo: Paul Nevadomski, 8News)

According to a Feb. 15 social post, "the founders continue to operate and own the brand, and they are in litigation with the RVA operator involving contractual breaches."

Per the brand owners, the operation of the location is "unauthorized and conducted without a legal license."

"We are currently involved in litigation on multiple fronts with the operator ('licensee') of the Richmond SSS," the post reads.