by MARK ST.J. COUHIG
Sequim Gazette
After three years in business on West Washington Street in Sequim, Arby’s is no more.
When they locked up this week, Dennis and Michelle Bush left behind a number of disappointed customers and some distraught landlords.
On Friday, a sign from Michelle Bush was posted on the front door: “The ongoing bad economy has caused Dennis and I to make the difficult decision to close our doors.”
While some local fans of the restaurant mourned the loss, local real estate broker Vic Quinet, who with a partner leased the space to the Bushes, is distressed. Quinet said he wants to put it all behind him, but is upset by rumors that the Bushes were forced out of business by Quinet and his partners.
“We tried our best to work with these people,” he said. “We lowered their rent,” he said, after the Bushes filed for bankruptcy.
“They left us holding the bag for a lot. They owe us tens of thousands of dollars. This was our retirement and it’s all gone.”
In October 2010 First Bank filed suit against the Bushes, saying the couple’s company, DMB Enterprise LLC dba Arby’s, had for five months failed to make payments on their small business loan of $536,428. The loan was secured by the assets of the Arby’s restaurant.
The equipment and furnishings from the restaurant — lock, stock and barrel — will be auctioned off online Oct. 25-27. West Auctions, which is handling the sale, would not confirm who owns the equipment, saying it is simply a “secured creditor.”
The equipment, which includes tables and chairs, a filing cabinet and a Blodgett Mark V Convection Oven, must be purchased as one lot. The starting bid is $5.
The equipment is unrelated to the franchise agreement. (For more, see www.westauction.com/auction/index/id/627)
The shuttering of the Arby’s was the latest in a series of financial woes to strike the Bushes.
The couple’s 3-bedroom house at 499 Vogt Road in Port Angeles will be auctioned off at the Clallam County Courthouse on Oct. 14 following its seizure for nonpayment of the mortgage.
Repeated attempts to contact the Bushes by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful.
Reach Mark Couhig at mcouhig@sequimgazette.com.
