It's a devastating loss for a community which already has an unemployment rate of over 12 percent.

Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker, headquartered in Ocala, announced it was closing it's doors last Wednesday.

Dee Dee's doghouse is a restaurant near the Ocala Railroad Station that specializes in hot dogs as well as other breakfast and lunch treats.

But for how much longer, owner Giovanni Pozo says he doesn't know.

"Seventy percent of our business daily depended on Taylor Bean."

All that is gone now that the company shut down last Wednesday afternoon.
Pozo says every day employees would order out over 200 meals.

"I don't know if we're going to make it without them."

He says he's going to try.
Pozo has asked the city, who owns the property, to reduce his rent-and he's waiting to hear back.

City manager Rick Horst says he hasn't gotten a chance to look into the situation.

"There's always ripple effect but the ripples get smaller as they they reach out.

Horst remains optimistic about the area's economic recovery, despite an unemployment rate of over 12 percent.

"We may need 5, 6, 8 ,10 different companies to make up for the loss of this one, but if that's what it takes we'll work hard and we'll make it happen."

And that's not considering the fact that area restaurants ,which at one time were owned by Dine Design, a group made up of Taylor Bean executives, could be affected as well.
Managers of those restaurants which include Ipanema Brazilian Steak house and Sky Asian Fusion say they are currently up and running but refused to comment about possible changes.
GIovanni Pozo just hopes he can salvage what he has.

Managers at both Ipanema Brazilian Steak house and Sky Asian Fusion say they will be putting out news releases soon about the status of the business.