Three shops closed at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport

Nicole Mezzasalma

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The owners of retail operator Franklin and Wilson Airport Concessions are accused of tax evasion

Three stores operated by Franklin and Wilson Airport Concessions at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport were shut down on Friday after the company’s owners failed to pay $176,000 in state sales tax and penalties, according to the Atlanta Journal. Employees of a Bijoux Terner store in the atrium area and a Bijoux Terner and a Bagmania store on Concourse A were sent home after having their airport passes confiscated by officials from Georgia’s Department of Revenue.

The retail operator declared bankruptcy in August 2006, two weeks after state officials ordered the company to pay $176,000 in outstanding taxes. However, a bankruptcy court overturned that case last month, allowing the state to pursue the debt.

Franklin and Wilson Airport Concessions majority owner David Franklin is said to have been doing business at the airport for more than two decades. He and a team of investors including Duty Free Air & Ship Supply tried to win a contract to run a duty-free shop at the airport four years ago, while his ex-wife Shirley Franklin was mayor.