Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Cars and Parts Swap Meet
Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2012 > February > 10 > Entry
L’Auberge seeks investors to keep it open beyond Feb. 20
KETTERING — L’Auberge restaurant owner Joseph Reif announced via an email to customers this morning that he is seeking investors to keep the restaurant operating beyond Feb. 20.
Reif said he needs two investors to put up $55,000 apiece to join two others who have already committed to the survival plan. Here’s an excerpt from Reif’s email:
And so dear friends, my time is running out and I have nearly exhausted all resources. I still believe that even in the last hour, 2 additional investors can be found. But if not there will be nothing left but to say goodbye and leave as graciously and with as much dignity as possible. I would then only ask that you keep me and the fine staff of l’Auberge in your thoughts as we are forced to embark on new journeys. Hopefully things will still work out, but if not then I wish you the best and hope you will do the same for me.
If I do not find the investors our last day will be February 20th. Till then and hopefully for many years to come l’Auberge will keep our fine tradition of high standards alive.
In August 2011, negotiations between attorneys for l’Auberge and a Lebanon bank that foreclosed on l’Auberge’s property produced an agreement that canceled a scheduled sheriff’s sale of the building and property, and allowed the restaurant to remain open. A bank attorney said at the time that the agreement did not resolve all of the legal issues that exised between the restaurant and the bank, which foreclosed after claiming the l’Auberge defaulted on three mortgage notes and owed the bank more than $1.6 million.
The agreement was designed to allow Reif to stay in possession of the restaurant and to bring in investment partners in the subsequent months. Lebanon Citizens National Bank had filed the mortgage foreclosure lawsuit in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in June 2010, about four months after it received its last mortgage payment on three loans it had made to The Inn Inc., the corporate parent of l’Auberge. Reif is president of the corporation.
Reif and the late Dieter Krug founded l’Auberge in 1979, transforming a restaurant known as The Inn into a fine-dining establishment. L’Auberge earned a coveted and rare four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide the first year it was eligible for rating, and held the rating for 19 years through 2002. The restaurant has survived even as other highly credentialed fine-dining restaurants such as King Cole in downtown Dayton and the Maisonette in Cincinnati, once Ohio’s only five-star restaurant, have been forced to close.
In his email this morning, Reif cited the poor economy, the loss of corporate headquarters from the Dayton region, and the opening of at least 57 new restaurants across the Miami Valley as among the factors that have adversely impacted l’Auberge, which he said has not compromised the high standards that allowed it to earn the coveted four-star Mobil rating.
Here is the full text of Reif’s email:
Dear Friends of l’Auberge,
After an article appeared in the Dayton Daily News reporting that l’Auberge might have to close due to financial difficulties, I have received many calls and letters from concerned customers asking about our current situation. So I’m writing to give you an update. Since, I think of you more like friends than customers, I feel compelled to share the news with you personally.
Of course, it’s no surprise to anyone that the economy dealt us a severe blow. None of us imagined back in 2007 when the market crashed that the recession we entered would linger this long. It, along with other developments, combined to negatively impact our business. A business that from the beginning I have continued to build up and invest in over the years.
In 1978, we bought l’Auberge, formerly the Inn, for $675 thousand. We did this through a partnership with several investors from the community that believed in us. Over the past 32 years, Dieter and I invested over $3 million: 2 new additions (the Bistro and Bar), renovations of the dining room (twice), the kitchen, the upper level, as well as the wine cellar and the outdoor café — everything was first class and to the highest standard. In fact, one year before the financial crash of 2006, l’Auberge was appraised by 3 local professional companies at $3.1 million. And now the building and property are available for sale.
Of course the real value of l’Auberge can’t be measured simply by money. Our history as a well-know Ohio landmark has brought so much more richness to our community. From Wall Street to Main Street, we put Dayton on the International culinary map through high profile events that attracted some of the most famous international chefs and gained international media attention. We were featured on TV, in the newspapers, and in magazines around the world. As our reputation grew and l’Auberge became famous in its own right, it became the mandatory stopping place for visiting celebrities and dignitaries.
The laughter and celebration of distinctive living became our trademark. More than an eating establishment, we became a refuge for uplifting camaraderie and the refreshing pleasure of good company. How can this ever be measured in dollars?
However, times change. The highly coveted, Mobile 4-star rating that added to our acclaim and the newspaper food critics that kept the public aware of our superior quality faded from existence. So the level of public attention has waned. But the one thing that has never, nor ever will change, is our demand for excellence. And this uncompromising commitment to delivering the best has also added to our financial difficulties.
As I mentioned, the recession started our troubles, but 2 other developments made it worse. The first is when NCR left Dayton. Many of the top NCR executives were regular l’Auberge clients and with their move to Atlanta, we lost a significant amount of business. Our competition to win new business was made even more challenging by the opening of 57 new restaurants in the Dayton area. So now we had to compete for the new customers in an overly crowded restaurant scene.
Even the Dayton Daily News reported that the Dayton area is over saturated with restaurants, which tips the law of supply and demand out of balance. It has forced everyone to lower their prices to compete for consumers that are eating out less frequently. Frankly, the high overhead of an establishment like l’Auberge puts us at a significant disadvantage. Do we compromise our standards of excellence to reduce costs in order to compete? Again, we say “Never!”
So how do you compete in an over saturated market against restaurants with lower standards and less overhead in the middle of a long, drawn out recession?
Of course, we understand that life is often unfair, which is why we’ve always been a leader in contributing to charitable causes in our community. And contribute we did — somewhere around $150,000 to local hospitals, Hospice, the arts, the universities and many others over the years.
Because we believe that supporting those in need is the right thing to do when you are blessed.
In spite of our misfortune I had 2 good friends come to my aid as investors. And a deal was in the place with the bank. But just before closing it…another unexpected disaster. One of the investors had to back out because of a life threatening illness and the other backed out due to a new business venture that exceeded the budget by $2 million.
However, confident there was still a solution, I made plans to move forward. I looked for 4 investors at $55,000 each to buy the outstanding debt of bank notes on short sale for $835,000. And I initiated plans to remodel and restyle l’Auberge into the next face—the generation switch that we’ve mastered every time in the past. This ability to re-invent ourselves for the next generation has played a key role in our ongoing success story.
It was just like the way we started in 1978. I was certain that I would once again find 4 investors that believed in me enough to contribute $55,000 each. Then the deal would go through and l’Auberge would move forward into the next chapter. I found 2 investors so once again, I was close and hopeful. But close is not enough and hope is now fading.
And so dear friends, my time is running out and I have nearly exhausted all resources. I still believe that even in the last hour, 2 additional investors can be found. But if not there will be nothing left but to say goodbye and leave as graciously and with as much dignity as possible. I would then only ask that you keep me and the fine staff of l’Auberge in your thoughts as we are forced to embark on new journeys. Hopefully things will still work out, but if not then I wish you the best and hope you will do the same for me.
If I do not find the investors our last day will be February 20th. Till then and hopefully for many years to come l’Auberge will keep our fine tradition of high standards alive.Tweet
Go to my facebook page and click Like to comment.
