NOTE: This story has been updated to include information from Ken Mikalauskas.
The building that is home to Mel’s Tea Room is being sold, but before the deal goes through, the current owners have a very short window to come up with an equivalent offer.
A message posted on the diner’s Facebook page says the building will be sold “unless we can secure $250,000 by midnight tonight.” It goes on to say, “this makes the future of Mel’s very uncertain.”
Dave and Wendy Epworth lease and operate Mel’s Tea Room in the building at 17 Bridge Street which is owned by a numbered company, in turn owned by Ken Mikalauskas.
Mikalauskas says that the potential buyers of the building are “very much interested in keeping Mel’s going in the community for years to come.” He also says that he has been speaking with the Epworths for months about a potential sale.
Co-owner Dave Epworth says he does not know who the potential buyers are, and confirms that the pair had sought financing for the purchase of the building. Epworth believes the condition of the building and the shut down of the restaurant since February due to a collapsed ceiling in the kitchen prevented that from being successful.
Along with the message on Facebook, the Epworths posted an email they say they received from Mikalauskas dated Tuesday, June 21, informing them of the sale and giving them 48 hours to respond with a “legal non-conditional offer” matching the $250,000 price and “as-is” condition of the building. The letter says the “first right of refusal” offer expires at midnight tonight.
Mel’s has been closed to customers for over four months now, due to a collapsed ceiling in the kitchen which happened in early February, and has yet to be repaired.
Dave Epworth told CHMA in late March that he was waiting for repairs to be covered under his landlord’s insurance policy.
Over the course of the pandemic, the Epworths made use of downtime to do extensive renovations inside the diner, while maintaining its look and feel. They replaced the bathrooms, refinished the floors, and rearranged some seating to allow a space for musical performances. Dave Epworth is a musician, and had plans for Mel’s to become a family-friendly spot to hear music.
Many generations of the Goodwin family operated Mel’s, which moved to its current location on Bridge Street in 1945. Mikalauskas and his partner Lara Ross bought the business from Roger Goodwin in 2012. Then in 2017, after he found out another restaurant was planning to buy the building, Mikalauskas negotiated a deal to buy the building from Goodwin instead. According to Service New Brunswick’s property online data, the building last changed hands in 2017 for the price of $220,000.
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