L’auberge to close until funding found
Owner says he will give keys to bank Thursday unless investors emerge.
KETTERING — The owner of l’auberge said Monday that the fine-dining restaurant is closed temporarily while negotiations with investors continue. If no investors step forward by Thursday, l’auberge owner Joseph Reif said he will turn over the keys to the restaurant to bank officials who foreclosed on — and now own — the building and property.
Reif said the restaurant is not expected to reopen this week as he makes a final effort to find investors. Ten days ago, Reif told customers via email that the restaurant would close for good as of Monday if investors could not be found.
Montgomery County property records show that on Feb. 2, l’auberge transferred the deed to the building and property to a trustee for Lebanon Citizens National Bank. The bank had filed a foreclosure lawsuit against l’auberge and Reif in 2010, claiming l’auberge defaulted on three mortgage loans.
William H. Kaufman, a Lebanon attorney representing the bank, said Monday that the bank is still willing to work with Reif if the l’auberge owner is able to find investors and meet the obligations spelled out in an August 2011 agreement. That agreement canceled a scheduled sheriff’s sale of the building and property, and allowed the restaurant to remain open while Reif searched for investors. If Reif’s search is not successful, the bank will put the property up for sale.
“I would think it is highly marketable,” Kaufman said of the site on Far Hills Avenue adjacent to Town & Country shopping center. The bank will begin the process of selling the property as it awaits any potential further action by Reif, the attorney said.
In an email he sent to customers Sunday morning, Reif said, “As you know, a city like Dayton needs to have a l’auberge, not only for its lineage but also for its many residents who are accustomed to excellence in their lives.” He invited customers to gather late Sunday afternoon “for goodbye cocktails” and offered for sale his collection of art that has adorned the walls of the restaurant for several years.
“Come in, have a glass of wine and reminisce about all of the great times from years gone past,” Reif said.