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HL’s Burger – it’s the longest serving Belizean fast food restaurant – but after 30 years of operation, Belize’s burger king may be closing its doors – or as the case may be its shutters.

Owner and namesake Howell Longsworth today confirmed that the company HL’s Enterprise has declared bankruptcy and the future of the company is in the hands of receivers. Longsworth declared bankruptcy after tax collectors claimed he owes sales tax of just a shade under $600,000 dating back to 2004. And while the tax is one thing, the penalty charges and interest are quite another. According to today’s Amandala, the late-payment penalty is calculated at 5% per day and accrues to $7.3 million.

Longsworth said that he’s sold everything he could to pay off the debt including his home but in the end it was just too much. And so, acting on the advice of his attorney Hubert Elrington he declared bankruptcy. Those papers were presented to the court yesterday. That’s bad news for burger lovers, but more so for the 58 employees – almost all single women – who work in the chain’s eight outlets.

HL’s started out on Freetown Road in 1978 when fast food was a relative novelty in Belize. It next expanded to Albert Street – and from there, the rest is history as the distinctive tasting hl burger has become a household name all across Belize. Longsworth told us he’s not sure how much longer they will remain opened because the operational decisions now rests with the receivers.

But the former UDP candidate for Freetown and CARICOM Ambassador turned pastor, remains upbeat, saying that he is confident that god will work something out.