Shoppers who have had to scramble for groceries after finding empty shelves at Bella’s Markets in Gypsum and Wellington got some good news Thursday, when owner Sam Mancini announced the stores are being sold.
“Hallelujah,” said Wellington Mayor Jack Brinkhoff. “Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to run it and keep it stocked. I hope the new operator comes in and runs it properly.”
A release about the sale didn’t announce a buyer. “The transaction is expected to be completed within the next three weeks. We anticipate that the stores will stay open during this time,” it said.
“Bella’s will have a joint announcement with the buyer once the transaction is complete.”
Mancini didn’t return a call for comment.
He owes Gypsum several months of sales tax, said Jeff Shroll, the town manager. That money will be recovered when the stores are sold, he added.
In August 2014, to the Odell family of Akron.
The sale returned the markets to the family, which had sold them to Mancini in 2006.
The markets were the only supermarkets in each of the towns. And when Mancini was unable to keep them stocked, some residents were driving up to 120 miles to get groceries.
Residents of Akron, who had confronted empty shelves at the Bella’s there, have been thrilled with the result, said Annette Bowin, the town’s clerk and administrator. “It has been great because they went back to the original owner. It took a little while; the stores were empty. We are back to business as usual. Life is good,” she said.
Neither the Odell family, nor their lawyer, John O’Brien, could be reached for comment.
Mancini .
The deal with Odell that gave Mancini the stores called for him to purchase inventory at the stores and lease the buildings.
He couldn’t purchase the business outright, so Odell provided a $2 million loan, according to a document filed in Washington County District Court during an attempt by Odell to evict Mancini from the Akron store.
The deal quickly disintegrated, and a 2012 bankruptcy filing by VM Odell’s claimed that even as Mancini was missing payments to the Odells, he was milking the business to pay creditors and finance “his excessive lifestyle.”
VM Odell’s emerged from bankruptcy with a reorganization plan.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671
