FYI Mltb Hometown Grocery
 

Just read on another local forum that Hometown Grocery in Moultonborough is closing the doors for good today.

Sad to hear the news. (ok read it for the comedians on here:))

My best to them.

If this is true, then this is another sad reflection of the state of our economy.

How many have gone down in this location?

Don't think it has much to do with economy..this is what I read...Moultonboro Hometown
We are closing Mon Feb 28. We are being evicted from the property. We were supposed to be able to buy it. It began with the deceit of Joe Townsend ,the realtor from NH Biz Sales,bank in RI to the buyer Richard Murphy (Greens ) who was going to lease to us. THEY LIED So we want to thank all of you for your friendship & patronage. Please visit us at Kelli's Place in Tamworth if you need good food when in the areas

Sounds like the plot to a good novel.

I don't get all the connections here. These current/past people were just renters seeking to purchase place?

Where does Murphy's Mobil (Irving) fit into this equation?

sounds like owner has some plans why evict unless you have another plan to use the space

I hope they clean it!

You get your wish. When I drove by there today there was a cleaning service backed up to the front door.

Saw that last night as well. Lights were mostly off. This was at about 6pm.
Just another good lesson to get everything in writing.....:(

Here is my take and supposition:

Townsend owned the store and garage in back. They own a tire recycling business.

They tried to open their own store and did not make it.

Townsend rented the space to a couple of guys who reopened Hometown last year. They did it on a shoestring and it showed.

Townsend defaulted, Richard Murphy attended the auction and was one of 2 or 3 bidders. He was successful.

His sale was contingent on an empty building. Hometown had to go.

Murphy has a successful store at 25 and the Neck Rd and intends to open the same here.

Well
 

I am glad to see the rumor mill is still alive. With much knowledge of what the issue is here its nice to see perhaps 25 percent of your posts have the right information. The biggest issue is it all was in writing and the property owner was forclosed on making their lease null and void. ( thank NH the not so small business friendly state) Murphy may not end up purchasing its not a done deal as of 5 pm yesterday.Have a great day

Another sarcastic first poster, with little to add

So if the owner of the store was foreclosed on, and the lease was made null and void, why didn't the store runners make a deal with the bank holding the mortgage to buy it. I would think the bank would have been pretty open to that instead of taking back an empty property.
I am no Realtor and I am sure it shows, but it is too bad the owners of the store part couldn't have bid on the property, and made a go of it from there. Or maybe it wasn't worth it?
I wonder how much it went for at auction? I'd love to have the garages in back, for my car restoration shop.

Tell us the real deal then. Where was I wrong?

If the property owner got foreclosed on that is because they did not or could not meet their financial obligation ie. make their payments.
That is the property owners fault, the State of NH has nothing to do with it.
I don't wish a foreclosure on Anybody but don't try to dump the blame somewhere where it doesn't belong.

Can't do it
 

When the bank forecloses they have an obligation to get as much as they can for the property. If they get less than the debt they can go after the person that was foreclosed on for a deficiency judgement and that person would be obligated to pay the difference between what was owed and what it sold for. If they get more than the debt and expenses they have to return the surplus funds to the person that was foreclosed on.

The people that were runniing the store own two other stores and may not have been in a financial position to purchase the property. Commercial mortgages typically require 25% down payment and a demonstrated ability for the property to carry itself. Many banks look for 125% debt coverage based on the income.

For what it is worth Murphy is still talking to the bank as of today and the sale to him is still not finalized.

Any update on Moultonborough Hometown Market as to when it will re-open?

Is it possible that if you churn the rumor mill hard enough it becomes fact?

8 business days latter Murphy is there tearing down the chimney and cleaning out the garages

hopefully we can get continuity and the place will stay open

If it's run like the Greens Corner store stability probably won't be an issue. They do a nice job at that location. They run a clean friendly operation and they stock quite a variety of items.

Hometown Market
 

'Sad day.

The folks that tried to make a go of the old "Emporium" couldn't swing it. Even with Rob's closed. Murphy's now is the only place open in town unless you go to Heath's.

Why? Well, we were heading through town and the wife needed milk and bread. I stopped at the Market and when she came out she was not at all happy with the stock, setup or cleanlness of the store, and deli.

Nice folks but except for beer and cigs. they didn't have too much to offer.

I wish them well.

Misty Blue.

Don't forget Skelly's Market. They have a pretty decent store, they can't cook a pizza throughly worth a damn but they do have an Awesome Potatoe salad. I finally gave up picking up pizza there, because even after repeated requests to "please make sure you cook the pizza throughly" I would always get a droopy half cooked doughy pizza. Enough was Enough !
I can't wait for my first official spring bbq and some of that potatoe salad. Um Um Gooood !!

Certainly one has to have enough operating capital.

But the main item is management. This will ultimately be the deciding factor.

Murphy's Green's Corner has Bill. He has been doing such for decades. Knows his stuff.

Fuller's/Rob's. Nice people but poor managers. Rob knew how to make a good sandwich but not how to run a store here.

Mabye bring Ellen back.

I heard through the grapevine this morning that Richard Murphy should be opening the old "Hometown Grocery" in approx. 2 months and it will be sporting an "Irving" fuel sign.
What the store will be called Idon't know.