A former bank building downtown avoided an auction that was scheduled for Thursday. Photo by Michael Thompson.
A last-minute bankruptcy filing has again helped a local restaurateur stave off a foreclosure attempt on one of his properties.
Roman Development LLC, which owns the century-old bank-turned-restaurant space at 1005 E. Main St., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
The lender was set to auction off the downtown property on the courthouse steps the next day.
The LLC is tied to Mo Roman, who owns Pie pizza restaurant at 214 N. Lombardy St. in the Fan. Another Roman LLC previously filed for bankruptcy just before a foreclosure on the Pie property.
The Main Street building is currently occupied by Vanquish, a bar and restaurant. Roman does not own Vanquish; the business is still open and not involved in the bankruptcy filing.
Kevin Lake of Richmond-based law firm McDonald, Sutton & DuVal is representing Roman Development in the bankruptcy.
Read the filing (PDF)
“We filed the Chapter 11 to stay a sale,” Lake said. “The reason for the filing is the lender would not renew, or decided not to renew, the note that is secured by the property.”
Fulton Bank is the lender on the Main Street property and had pushed it toward foreclosure.
Lake said the plan is to either refinance the property or sell it, and he said the income from Vanquish will help the building find a buyer.
Steve Goodwin is listed as Roman Development’s registered agent and did not return a call seeking comment. Mo Roman could not be reached for comment.
David Feibish of Joyner Commercial has the property listed for sale. The asking price is $950,000.
Two other Mo Roman entities filed for bankruptcy and stalled foreclosure auctions late last year on the Pie property and a restaurant building in Northern Virginia. Both of those properties were later sold through traditional sales.
A former bank building downtown avoided an auction that was scheduled for Thursday. Photo by Michael Thompson.
A last-minute bankruptcy filing has again helped a local restaurateur stave off a foreclosure attempt on one of his properties.
Roman Development LLC, which owns the century-old bank-turned-restaurant space at 1005 E. Main St., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
The lender was set to auction off the downtown property on the courthouse steps the next day.
The LLC is tied to Mo Roman, who owns Pie pizza restaurant at 214 N. Lombardy St. in the Fan. Another Roman LLC previously filed for bankruptcy just before a foreclosure on the Pie property.
The Main Street building is currently occupied by Vanquish, a bar and restaurant. Roman does not own Vanquish; the business is still open and not involved in the bankruptcy filing.
Kevin Lake of Richmond-based law firm McDonald, Sutton & DuVal is representing Roman Development in the bankruptcy.
Read the filing (PDF)
“We filed the Chapter 11 to stay a sale,” Lake said. “The reason for the filing is the lender would not renew, or decided not to renew, the note that is secured by the property.”
Fulton Bank is the lender on the Main Street property and had pushed it toward foreclosure.
Lake said the plan is to either refinance the property or sell it, and he said the income from Vanquish will help the building find a buyer.
Steve Goodwin is listed as Roman Development’s registered agent and did not return a call seeking comment. Mo Roman could not be reached for comment.
David Feibish of Joyner Commercial has the property listed for sale. The asking price is $950,000.
Two other Mo Roman entities filed for bankruptcy and stalled foreclosure auctions late last year on the Pie property and a restaurant building in Northern Virginia. Both of those properties were later sold through traditional sales.