Assets of Former Downtown Bar Go Up for Auction
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Warehouse 50’s liquor license was among the items that went unsold during an online auction of the now-closed bar’s assets Thursday.
Until it closed last year, Warehouse 50 was the sole remaining tenant in the Stambaugh Building. NYO Property Group, which owns the Stambaugh Building where Warehouse 50 had operated, announced plans in November 2014 to convert the building into a Doubletree by Hilton.
About 100 people attended a preview Wednesday to review the physical assets of the bar, said Richard Basinger, auctioneer and president of Bid-Assets, which conducted the six-hour online auction.
“This is a way that businesses, when they close for whatever reason, recoup a lot of capital,” he explained. Online auctions allow more bidders to participate anywhere via their smartphones. “It’s really increased our audience.”
Among the assets listed for auction in addition to the bar’s D5/D6 liquor license, which was listed at a $20,000 starting bid, were kitchen equipment, point-of-sale ordering system, audio equipment, tables, chairs, flat-screen televisions, cleaning equipment, holiday decorations, plates and glassware.
A D5 license, which permits sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages for on-premises consumption and off-premises in original sealed containers costs $2,344 annually. The D6 add-on, which permits Sunday sales, costs $500, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control.
Class D permits are limited based on the population of the taxing district to one per 1,000 for carryout permits and one per 2,000 for on-premises permits. Community entertainment districts, such as in downtown Youngstown, can issue up to 15 permits known as D5J permits.
Because only so many of the licenses are available in a given area, anyone interested in opening a new bar or restaurant “usually has to go to a broker,” Basinger said.
Among the more than 300 items that sold Thursday were an NCR Silver iPad 4 tablet POS system with three drawers and four receipt printers, and remote credit card sliders, which went for $1,110.
Items not sold included the restaurants walk-in coolers and freezers.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
