Owners of Edinboro's Perkins Restaurant aim for sale in coming months

Since a kitchen fire shut down the Edinboro Perkins Restaruant in May 2015, a sign reading "closed for remodel" has been the only clue residents have seen about the future of that site.

"The sign has been up for months and months and months," said Edinboro resident, Kim Grove.

Some online reviews, calling it the "mystery restaurant" after renovations began, but suddenly stopped in 2016.

"It's been a big question in town," said Grove. "We really miss having another restaurant in Edinboro."

"We were expecting any day for them to ask for their inspections," said Kevin Opple, Edinboro borough manager. "That's the final process while you're doing a new build-out or a renovation."

But Opple says that request never came.

The owner of Edinboro's Perkins franchise, Meadville-based Unique Ventures Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2017, bringing those renovations to a halt. Chairs and wood, still inside Monday afternoon.

"There hasn't been a lot of communication with the town or with us or with anyone else about what they're intending to do," Opple said.

But Unique Ventures general manager Marc Teaberry tells Erie News Now that his group intends to sell the property this November. A hearing is scheduled in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Oct. 5 at 10 a.m.

The company owns 28 other Perkins Restaurants in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Much of the remodeling work inside the kitchen itself is complete, Teaberry said by phone last week. He hopes that will not only expedite the sale of this Perkins Restaurant, but allow the new owners to take over and reopen in 2018.

"We'll have to reissue a new building permit to the new owner to work on whatever they still have to do," said Opple, who said Unique is up-to-date on all of its bills, which means the borough is not in a position to force a sale of the property despite the two-year vacancy.

The sale of the Edinboro location is not expected to impact other Unique-owned Perkins locations, including one in Meadville.

But what's moving into the Edinboro site is now the new "mystery."