Bistro Facing Foreclosure Wrath From Pinole

Posted in Foreclosure, Foreclosure Listings, August 23rd, 2007 |

Tuesday 5 pm was the deadline for the owner of Pear Street Bistro, Wong, to pay up his dues of $81,000. The critics of the Bistro owner have been rather vociferous. He failed to pay up and foreclosure proceedings have been initiated against him. The drama started in October 2005 when Gary Wong made payments to many loans (package of loans) which finally stood at $463,000 inclusive of pending interest. The public are critical and apprehend that a council consisting of three friends of Wong had been following go-slow tactics and not putting sufficient pressure on him to clear accounts. A drive was taken against Mayor Maria Alegria and Councilmen David Cole and Stephen Tilton.

The agency which has lent the loan taken for renovation purposes, has had no alternative but to go ahead with legal foreclosure process – says its representative Long. As soon as the loan will be cleared proceedings will stop, as per the law. City Attorney Reyes in answer to a question at a council meeting on Tuesday night said that Wong would be given 90 days to meet his commitments. He had failed on 22 installments ($3,700 per month) which with interest rose to $81,000. In July Wong announced that he was selling the unit to a Pinole long time resident, a business man staying in the Bay area. The latter opened escrow on 23rd July 2007. But by Tuesday afternoon nothing concrete could come up that would absolve Wong. Long had no information about any agreement that Long had made with another buyer.

Wong remained incommunicable to voice mails trying to get his response on Monday and Tuesday. The prospective buyers Robert and Sally Frangieh of Gilt Edge Creamery in San Francisco remained silent or evasive. Under the terms of city redevelopment loan terms Wong would have to clear his full dues within 90 days failing which his building would be sold carrying interest rate from 0 to 6%.

The owners of the building are Wong’s Corporation, Guistomangia Inc. In the case of the buyers buying the corporation directly and not the land and the building the loan principals will be shown as not due. There are no provisions in loan agreements that take into consideration the ending of business with the selling off of the building. In other words these loans follow the real estate.

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