ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
La Maison du Gourmet, the landmark Roanoke restaurant that closed its doors this week, may have some life in it after all.
News that the building is up for sale prompted calls from several people - including at least three restaurateurs - who may be interested in buying it.
Jim Woltz of Woltz and Associates, which is handling the sale, said "we've had a slew of calls," although there's "nothing that's down on paper yet. It's merely discussions at this point."
As it is now, the house and four-plus acres of land are set to go on the auction block in 45 to 60 days.
But Carter Magee Jr., an attorney for the building's owner, said one Roanoke Valley restaurateur who expressed interest in the property appears to have the financial wherewithal to close the deal in a short time and reopen the restaurant.
The asking price for the property on Airport Road is $750,000, Magee said.
Woltz and Magee represent Randy Marianetti, who owns the property but had turned over operation of the restaurant to Thomas Taylor.
Taylor signed a lease-purchase contract to buy the building in May 1996, but was unable to come up with the financing to complete the deal. After giving Taylor several extensions, Marianetti decided to put the property up for auction.
Since the news of the closing broke, Magee said, "people have been ringing my phone off the hook" with concerns about losing their deposits for wedding receptions and other special events. He said he got a call Wednesday from a Hollins College student who said she had put down a $2,000 deposit for a formal student dinner.
He said, however, that all deposits were taken by the restaurant's operator, Taylor, and thus are Taylor's responsibility.
Taylor's attorney, Paul Tucker of Fincastle, said in a letter Wednesday that Taylor is "taking measures to refund these deposits promptly, and he regrets any inconvenience to his former patrons."
Tucker wrote that the lease-purchase deal "turned out to be a complicated, protracted business transaction, which unfortunately failed to materialize."
He said Taylor had "hoped to close on the purchase up until the last minute" and provide the services covered by the deposits. But, he said, Marianetti asked Taylor to vacate the property by this week, and because of this, Taylor "simply may not be able to provide the services."
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