Toscanini's Shut Down for "Nonpayment of Taxes"
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Evan Williams
Jan 17, 2008, 2:49:16 PM1/17/08
to Someday Community
http://bostonist.com/2008/01/17/toscaninis_shut.php
The beloved Toscanini's, home of some of the finest ice cream that
can be had in this area, was shut down this morning for not paying
taxes.
Joanne McNeil tipped us off to the news and sent a picture. Bostonist
headed down there to check out the scene. Aside from the word "SEIZED"
in huge typeface, the sign read: "Seized for nonpayment of taxes and
is now in possession of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The orange
sign was dated today.
Passers-by expressed shock and slowed down because they couldn't
believe the sign. One man refused to believe it.
--
Evan
Ron Newman
Jan 17, 2008, 4:59:08 PM1/17/08
to Someday Community
http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/homepage/x1925665060
(copied here under the Cambridge Chronicle's Creative Commons license)
Cold busted: Toscanini's owes state $167,000 in unpaid taxes
By Matt Dunning
Thu Jan 17, 2008, 03:58 PM EST
Cambridge - One of the most popular ice cream haunts in Cambridge is
now the property of state.
Toscanini's Ice Cream, a mainstay for cool treats in Central Square
since 1981, may not ever open again, and its owner, Gus Rancatore,
owes the state's Department of Revenue more than $167,000 in back
taxes.
"It certainly is too large of an amount to have happened by accident,"
said Department of Revenue spokesman Bob Briss.
The bulk of the money Rancatore owes -- about $140,000 -- is in meal
taxes dating back as far as 2000, Briss said. The rest was in employee
withholding taxes.
Rancatore could not be immediately reached for comment.
Thursday morning, a bright orange sign appeared in the window
informing customers Toscanini's was closed due to "non-payment of
taxes."
Briss said Rancatore would have to work out a payment plan with the
state soon if he had any hope of reopening Toscanini's. Otherwise, the
property would likely go to auction, and the proceeds would go towards
paying his debt.
"Even then, [the auction price] is usually not enough to recoup what
the state is owed," Briss said. "And, it doesn't make the debt go
away. Hopefully, the seizure will convince [Rancatore] that there is a
problem and it needs to be dealt with."
(copied here under the Cambridge Chronicle's Creative Commons license)
Cold busted: Toscanini's owes state $167,000 in unpaid taxes
By Matt Dunning
Thu Jan 17, 2008, 03:58 PM EST
Cambridge - One of the most popular ice cream haunts in Cambridge is
now the property of state.
Toscanini's Ice Cream, a mainstay for cool treats in Central Square
since 1981, may not ever open again, and its owner, Gus Rancatore,
owes the state's Department of Revenue more than $167,000 in back
taxes.
"It certainly is too large of an amount to have happened by accident,"
said Department of Revenue spokesman Bob Briss.
The bulk of the money Rancatore owes -- about $140,000 -- is in meal
taxes dating back as far as 2000, Briss said. The rest was in employee
withholding taxes.
Rancatore could not be immediately reached for comment.
Thursday morning, a bright orange sign appeared in the window
informing customers Toscanini's was closed due to "non-payment of
taxes."
Briss said Rancatore would have to work out a payment plan with the
state soon if he had any hope of reopening Toscanini's. Otherwise, the
property would likely go to auction, and the proceeds would go towards
paying his debt.
"Even then, [the auction price] is usually not enough to recoup what
the state is owed," Briss said. "And, it doesn't make the debt go
away. Hopefully, the seizure will convince [Rancatore] that there is a
problem and it needs to be dealt with."
John Hildebidle
Jan 17, 2008, 5:40:29 PM1/17/08
to somedayc...@googlegroups.com
On Thursday, January 17, 2008, at 02:49 PM, Evan Williams wrote:
>
> http://bostonist.com/2008/01/17/toscaninis_shut.php
>
> The beloved Toscanini's, home of some of the finest ice cream that
> can be had in this area, was shut down this morning for not paying
> taxes.
Gloating is such a restorative and healing mood, is it not? Anyway, the
best 'scream in Beantown has for long been connived by Steve Herrell,
not Gus Roncatori. And the brand they sell at the Somerville Theater
(in season) is pretty damned toothsome, besides.
J J von Long-grudge
Ron Newman
Jan 18, 2008, 8:52:35 AM1/18/08
to Someday Community
State seizes ice cream firm over back taxes
By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | January 18, 2008
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue yesterday said it seized
control of Cambridge ice cream icon Toscanini's because the owner owes
more than $167,000 in taxes dating back to 2000.
Department spokesman Bob Bliss yesterday said the agency has worked
for years to resolve the matter but has made no progress. The
department plans to auction off the assets of the Central Square shop,
including equipment and furnishings, to recoup whatever money it can.
About $140,000 owed by owner Gus Rancatore is in meal taxes and the
balance is in employee withholding taxes, Bliss said. Rancatore did
not return messages seeking comment last night. His brother Joe
Rancatore, who owns a separate ice cream firm in Belmont, declined to
discuss the matter.
"There had been a lot of discussion with the owner. He was aware there
was a problem - but ultimately our folks made a judgment that the
situation wasn't getting any better and he was getting further and
further behind," Bliss said of the decision to shut down Toscanini's.
Once dubbed the "best ice cream in the world" by The New York Times,
Toscanini's has attracted ice cream aficionados since 1981. Over the
years, ice cream veteran Gus Rancatore opened other locations in
Harvard Square and Somerville, but most recently operated only out of
the original Central Square location on Main Street.
Toscanini's frozen treats featured classic sorbets, creamy confections
chock full of French chocolates, and more unusual concoctions
including Guinness ice cream made with the Irish stout.
In 2006, Rancatore celebrated the Amazon.com publication of his short
memoir, "Ice Cream Man: 25 years at Toscanini's," in which he thanked
the nearby MIT students for their patronage and wrote about how he
still used an ice cream machine built by two superconductor students
offended by the noise and clunkiness of the equipment.
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abe...@globe.com.
By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | January 18, 2008
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue yesterday said it seized
control of Cambridge ice cream icon Toscanini's because the owner owes
more than $167,000 in taxes dating back to 2000.
Department spokesman Bob Bliss yesterday said the agency has worked
for years to resolve the matter but has made no progress. The
department plans to auction off the assets of the Central Square shop,
including equipment and furnishings, to recoup whatever money it can.
About $140,000 owed by owner Gus Rancatore is in meal taxes and the
balance is in employee withholding taxes, Bliss said. Rancatore did
not return messages seeking comment last night. His brother Joe
Rancatore, who owns a separate ice cream firm in Belmont, declined to
discuss the matter.
"There had been a lot of discussion with the owner. He was aware there
was a problem - but ultimately our folks made a judgment that the
situation wasn't getting any better and he was getting further and
further behind," Bliss said of the decision to shut down Toscanini's.
Once dubbed the "best ice cream in the world" by The New York Times,
Toscanini's has attracted ice cream aficionados since 1981. Over the
years, ice cream veteran Gus Rancatore opened other locations in
Harvard Square and Somerville, but most recently operated only out of
the original Central Square location on Main Street.
Toscanini's frozen treats featured classic sorbets, creamy confections
chock full of French chocolates, and more unusual concoctions
including Guinness ice cream made with the Irish stout.
In 2006, Rancatore celebrated the Amazon.com publication of his short
memoir, "Ice Cream Man: 25 years at Toscanini's," in which he thanked
the nearby MIT students for their patronage and wrote about how he
still used an ice cream machine built by two superconductor students
offended by the noise and clunkiness of the equipment.
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abe...@globe.com.
Ron Newman
Jan 18, 2008, 10:23:54 AM1/18/08
to Someday Community
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1067293
Revenue Department puts freeze on Toscanini's
By Donna Goodison | Friday, January 18, 2008 | Business & Markets
Toscanini's customers with a hankering for an ice cream cone or cup of
joe walked away stunned and empty-handed yesterday.
The state Department of Revenue seized the popular Cambridge ice cream
and coffee shop for nonpayment of back taxes, taping an orange sign
with "SEIZED" in large block letters on its door.
The Central Square business, which opened in 1981, owes $167,810 in
taxes that have been accumulating since 2000, DOR spokesman Robert
Bliss said. The amount includes $140,151 in unpaid meal taxes and
$27,659 in unpaid withholding taxes.
The DOR resorts to seizing businesses when it's unable to "get the
attention of taxpayers to come to terms with the amount that's owed,"
according to Bliss.
"This can initiate a conversation with a taxpayer, and it's not
infrequent for some kind of payment plans to be worked out that allows
a business to reopen," he said. "But there are also cases where . . .
DOR winds up auctioning the assets that were seized, which in this
case would be the equipment."
The Cambridge shop is Toscanini's original location. The company,
known for concocting offbeat ice cream flavors, formerly had stores in
Harvard Square and the MIT student center. It also has a wholesale
business, selling its ice cream to Boston-area restaurants and
supermarkets such as Whole Foods, according to its Web site.
Toscanini's founder and owner Gus Rancatore, who co-wrote a 2006 e-
memoir about Toscanini's that's available on Amazon.com, could not be
reached for comment.
By yesterday afternoon, though, his customers were rallying behind
him. Employees at nearby LocaModa Inc. in Cambridge set up a "Save
Tosci's!" wiffitti (wireless graffiti) screen on the Web, urging
customers to text messages in support. The messages, posted at
www.wiffiti.com/a/savetosci, included "yay taxachusetts," "throw some
pints into the harbor," "make ice cream not war," "hang in there Gus"
and "new flavor: evicted."
This isn't the first time that Rancatore was at risk of losing a
business. In 2006, he lost the lease for his Someday Cafe, a popular
coffee shop and hangout in Somerville's Davis Square for 13 years. He
admitted he forgot to meet a deadline to renew it.
Revenue Department puts freeze on Toscanini's
By Donna Goodison | Friday, January 18, 2008 | Business & Markets
Toscanini's customers with a hankering for an ice cream cone or cup of
joe walked away stunned and empty-handed yesterday.
The state Department of Revenue seized the popular Cambridge ice cream
and coffee shop for nonpayment of back taxes, taping an orange sign
with "SEIZED" in large block letters on its door.
The Central Square business, which opened in 1981, owes $167,810 in
taxes that have been accumulating since 2000, DOR spokesman Robert
Bliss said. The amount includes $140,151 in unpaid meal taxes and
$27,659 in unpaid withholding taxes.
The DOR resorts to seizing businesses when it's unable to "get the
attention of taxpayers to come to terms with the amount that's owed,"
according to Bliss.
"This can initiate a conversation with a taxpayer, and it's not
infrequent for some kind of payment plans to be worked out that allows
a business to reopen," he said. "But there are also cases where . . .
DOR winds up auctioning the assets that were seized, which in this
case would be the equipment."
The Cambridge shop is Toscanini's original location. The company,
known for concocting offbeat ice cream flavors, formerly had stores in
Harvard Square and the MIT student center. It also has a wholesale
business, selling its ice cream to Boston-area restaurants and
supermarkets such as Whole Foods, according to its Web site.
Toscanini's founder and owner Gus Rancatore, who co-wrote a 2006 e-
memoir about Toscanini's that's available on Amazon.com, could not be
reached for comment.
By yesterday afternoon, though, his customers were rallying behind
him. Employees at nearby LocaModa Inc. in Cambridge set up a "Save
Tosci's!" wiffitti (wireless graffiti) screen on the Web, urging
customers to text messages in support. The messages, posted at
www.wiffiti.com/a/savetosci, included "yay taxachusetts," "throw some
pints into the harbor," "make ice cream not war," "hang in there Gus"
and "new flavor: evicted."
This isn't the first time that Rancatore was at risk of losing a
business. In 2006, he lost the lease for his Someday Cafe, a popular
coffee shop and hangout in Somerville's Davis Square for 13 years. He
admitted he forgot to meet a deadline to renew it.
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