staff after the shock closure of his business.

And he has defended the way he handled the closure.

This week angry staff of the Arcade restaurant in Hamilton complained they showed up for work as usual on Saturday -- only to find the locks changed and the business shut.

They said Mr. Buser owed thousands of dollars in wages, plus insurance and pension contributions which, they claimed, were not up to date.

He has also been accused of not telling the five workers what was about to happen.

Yesterday Mr. Buser confirmed that the restaurant, in the Walker Arcade, had been put into receivership.

His business had been devastated by renovation work on the outdoor seating area he used, he said.

"My cash flow got cut off. There was no way I could operate profitably. We almost became insolvent.

"When that hit the bank, the bank sort of pulled the plug.

"I received a letter from the bank on April 13 that I had until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 15 to resecure the loan or to come up with the full amounts.

"They had so much patience with me, I can't blame them.'' The Bank of Butterfield foreclosed at 5 p.m. on Friday, he said.

But up to the last minute he had been in the process of selling the business.

"It was sold in principle. The deal almost went through. I'm surprised myself that it didn't.

"I did notify the staff that I counted on being open on Saturday, business as usual.

"I honestly said to everyone: `I don't know what to expect, just show up, even if we're closed.'' He tried to contact as many staff as he could when he found out about the foreclosure, he said.

He had also gone to the restaurant to meet arriving employees.

"I'm working as much as possible to get the staff paid,'' Mr. Buser added.

"I'm doing my utmost as a director and employee to do this as humanely as possible.''