Rocky Top Furniture under investigation

GARRARD COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ)- A well-known central Kentucky furniture store is under investigation after suddenly closing and allegedly leaving dozens of paying customers without their furniture.

Rocky Top Furniture in Lancaster has been making high quality log furniture for decades.

“We’ve done stuff for the United States Army. We’ve done stuff on DIY Network, Great American Country. We’ve had our own tv show,” said Robert Matheny, a former employee at Rocky Top Furniture.

But then three years ago, the owners Gwen and Tommy Mitchell say they sold the business to a company called Cardinal Industries in Wilmore.

“They believed that in selling the business it was going to be a generational, the business would be ongoing,” said Sandra Spurgeon, attorney for Gwen and Tommy Mitchell.

The Mitchell’s stayed on as landlords of the property.

Then back in July the business caught on fire.

“And after the fire the Mitchell’s learned that Mr. Coppedge and his group had actually negotiated and or were negotiating the sale of the business just prior to the fire,” said Spurgeon.

The new owner was a man named Alvan McQueen.

It was under his ownership, the Mitchells’ attorney says they started to have problems.

“There were lease payments that were owed to the Mitchell’s that weren’t paid,” said Spurgeon.

Employees say they too noticed something was wrong.

“Stuff had stopped getting paid. Trucks got cut off. Just a lot of red flags started coming up,” said Matheny.

Matheny says angry customers started calling in wondering why their furniture wasn’t ready.

“It was getting to a point it was getting nasty for employees to even be there,” said Matheny.

Then in mid-October the company abruptly closed.

This week McQueen was evicted after the Mitchells’ attorney says he failed to pay rent.

“It was in excess of $36,000,” said Spurgeon.

On Monday night, the Garrard County Police Department also executed a search warrant on the property seizing hundreds of documents, computers and phones.

“I don’t know that they’ll find anything. I really don’t but it’d just be better, better to know,” said Matheny.

It is still unclear how many customers haven’t received the furniture they paid for.

McQueen’s son was on the property Tuesday moving out equipment during the eviction.

He would not answer questions instead told us to email him.

So far he has not responded to our email.