BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Cafe Med officially ended restaurant operations Friday evening, five days before the planned Wednesday closure.

Representatives from Cafe Med initially confirmed with 23ABC that they will be permanently shutting down Wednesday due to financial issues such as payroll and operation costs.

But, instead, the Southwest Bakersfield restaurant closed down Friday evening, due to volume of customers requesting redemption on gift cards and vouchers, according to Meir Brown, the chef and owner of the establishment.

Brown says the restaurant will honor already planned engagements and will be working with individual voucher sponsors to work out a solution with customers.

On Saturday evening, Brown told 23ABC that he redeemed $12,000 in gift cards alone on Friday.

The business is located at 4809 Stockdale Highway in Southwest Bakersfield.