Is the Hideaway really for sale?

[westisthebest]

Th Hideaway Lounge on 51st st has a for sale sign but no one can get a hold of them. Anyone have insider info?

[Milan Marvelous]

The building which the hideaway is in, along with the business itself, and it's liquor license sold at some type of auction (I don't think it was through the Sheriff's department) late last year. What I heard was that a SE Asian family purchased it and they were interested in finding someone to buy the business and the license.

You should be able to find the owner's info online. If not, I may be able to find the contact info for the lawyer who coordinated the auction.

All that being said - I have no idea whether they are still trying to sell the business or not!

[annie]

OPA records are still showing the owner from 1962. It looks like it went up to Sheriff's Sale in April of this year but even if it sold the OPA records usually take 3+ months to update. That sign has been up for awhile so it probably connects you to the owners that lost the property or are in the process of losing it.

[seand]

Which means it is for sale, sort of, especially with the sign. You definitely don't get the liquor license if you just buy the building at Sherrif's Sale but if you approach the owner and agree to assume their debts in full and pay them a little more to bail them out before the auction, I believe you keep the building and maintain the zoning (which is a big part of being able to keep it as a bar, I'm told). There may be the possibility to pay their back debts and purchase the liquor license before it gets resold by the PLCB as well but I know nothing about that process. Otherwise purchasing the Liquor License, I'm told is a relatively straightforward process if its a bar thats zoned as a bar. It costs a considerable money, but if you have it you can buy one. It all depends on how realistic they are about the fact they are losing it and whether they realize getting a little from you for bailing them out is better than losing the whole thing to Sherrif's Sale and likely getting nothing.

The problem is that if they are that in arrears on property taxes, they probably have other liens against them which means if you are going to make an offer to assume their debt to short-circuit the Sherrif's Sale, you need to do your research very carefully. If that makes sense.

A friend of mine was telling me some about the process of buying a bar in a situation like this a few weeks back so I'm going pretty much on what they said. Not on personal expertise.

[seand]

Speaking as not too far distant neighbor, if someone bought this and turned it into a less shady bar than the old Hideaway, maybe something along the lines of Elena's Soul in terms of a diverse clientel and some food, they could hypothetically do pretty well, especially with Apple Lofts eventually adding a lot of nearby new neighbors.

[annie]

Sorry I transposed the address numbers. OPA owner bought in 1991. Not seeing anything on sheriff sale. RE tax balance is lower than, ahem, some other bars in the neighborhood.