What a crazy memorandum of understanding. If the location was anywhere else I wonder how eager new investors would be. When Sprouts opened in Aberdeen a few months ago, the hires came in large part from Sickles.
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I recognize there are probably personal relationships involved here… but otherwise I wonder about hiring the team that was at the helm when the ship went down last time. Some previous suppliers and employees are not going to be keen to get involved again with the same people.
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I was thinking the same thing - who is going to want to do business with or be employed by them (other than family members)??
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I agree with both of you. Posting the details regarding rehiring the family and manager AND their annual salaries is just a kick in the face to anyone else stiffed and premature given the size of the bankruptcy still litigated. Should be very interesting how customers respond to any reopening announcements.
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Most locals are up in arms regarding the deal. The general consensus seems to be, since Sickle’s personal home is being “saved” by the “investment group”, that the sale is just a shame and a bankruptcy bailout by most likely “friends”.
“…” being used because everything I am saying is rumor, however that’s what I am hearing and if you look at the big picture, it seems accurate.
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I’ve been hearing similar assessments from both biz owners and landlords out of RB my wife knows. Ballsy to say the least.
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Which could backfire if the BK court suspects it’s a bailout. Time will tell.
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I was wondering about that as I read the article… all I saw was a list of big salaries for family members, which seems exactly what shouldn’t happen when declaring bankruptcy! If you know you’re going to have that income, how can you wipe the slate clean (legally) at the same time?
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Ask Tangerine Tyrant he’s had plenty of success with that ( I am prepared to be censured for this but it’s low hanging fruit)
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I can understand that Sickles would pursue a deal to provide for himself and family. According to the article at link below, Sickles declares $10.9 million in assets and $7.5 million in liabilities. So perhaps he can liquidate the assets to cover the liabilities and render himself/family solvent and employed through this deal.
I just read the entire legal doc attached to your article link. The land all the assets sit on is being eyed for development. Housing.
I hope at the very least the employees who had no idea they would lose their pay or health insurance still have a shot at reimbursement if everyone else involved in this potential deal has big eyes to make millions.
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If we really want to get cynical here. This was prob the plan all along. There’s a reason he separated the land from the store. The RB location was prob meant to be the continuation of sickles while he sold off the LS land for $$$$ for townhomes. Covid and his misunderstanding of RB price points dried up his liquidity while he was over leveraged and he went bust. The investment thesis remains sound so he had a com buddies contribute equity to take a piece of the pie to keep the deal from getting away. Meanwhile his employees lose out and half the people in the area cry over what a good guy he is and how unfortunate the situation is and some make it a political thing to boot
In fact going bust prob helps him sell the land so he can go to the town and claim he has no choice bc the business is no longer viable and it’s the only way he can pay his debts…
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Except if this go through several recent articles state they intend to reopen the LS market and hire the original principles to run it. So, the investors involved may not see the viability of the LS market biz as you do and the legal layers to this entire BK are extraordinary consider how many folks are looking to get paid.
Sad way to end a legacy. Reminds me of the story from my childhood when Mountainside lost the cider mill.
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In the end if the bankruptcy is approved by the court the former employees are in first position to be paid. from any remaining assets The vendors in this case will get pennies on the dollar of their debt & get to right off the losses. The medical debts accrued by the former employees will only be addressed by separate legal action that the former employees have to undertake. The company whether it continues to operate under bankruptcy protection or gets liquidated is then free to move on unencumbered by debt. Since the former owner obviously is morally bankrupt the little guy gets screwed over and the latter will strut around RB just shrugging his shoulders as he walks to his brokers office
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Ain’t life grand!
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I think Metsfan has a point – the document states they intend to re-open Sickles Market, but the plan could be to do that at a different location. The LS property must be worth millions for residential development. I didn’t think the RB location was that great because it seemed a bit out of the way – unless you’re a frequenter of JBJ Soul Kitchen across the street.
I have previous experience in situations similar to this. Any redevelopment plan would take several years, especially with residents pushing back.
Everything is there, including the good will, so they would re-open to cover costs until the approvals are granted.
That’s my $.02
(you can’t ask the bankruptcy court to approve some kind of buy-out, if the court suspects you are going to be making a score)
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Just once I’d like to see a DIFFERENT headline:
New upscale restaurant in Red Bank offers a fresh take on traditional Italian
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I just finished reading this article on APP, it sounds just like every other announcement of another launch of a Red Bank restaurant.Also do we need another “tasting room experience “ .Good luck but not interested
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Exactly. No creative menu items - could be from any other Italian spot.
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