Paula Deen Restaurant Closes -- Sorry We Screwed You Over, But Here's Our Card!

The employees at Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House weren't sent packing empty-handed ... TMZ has learned they were given a business card and a list of restaurants in the area that are hiring. Better than nothing, right?

As TMZ previously reported, Bubba's -- the restaurant at the center of the Paula Deen racist controversy -- closed down Thursday morning out of the blue ... with some employees finding out on Facebook and others hearing the news from the restaurant once they arrived at work.

One employee told us they were paid through Wednesday and got vacation pay along with two weeks severance.

The employee said the whole ordeal was particularly hurtful, since so many staffers stuck up for the Deen family during the controversy -- some patrons threw food at them and they still defended Paula.