It's hard to believe that the Maennerchor Club, on Erie's State Street, has been closed since March 2018.  The owner of the building, Julio Reyes, has been trying to bring the property back to life, but his hands have been tied for almost three years.

Reyes purchased the property at a sheriff's sale in September 2018 for $335,000.  He believed he purchased the building and everything inside. But officials of the bankrupt Maennerchor Club filed a lawsuit against Reyes.  The officials claimed that items inside the building still belong to the social club. The lawsuit prevented Reyes from renovating and reopening the building.

"Last December the judge ruled in their favor.  So now we're in the process of really moving everything out,” says Reyes.

Reyes is now pushing ahead with plans to open a new restaurant at the Maennerchor site.  He expects it to open by the end of July.  It's been three years since he closed the popular Latino's Restaurant on Parade Street.  He says the new restaurant will probably not be a carbon copy.

"We haven't finalized the menu yet.  We have a few ideas.  Some crazy ideas like serving something like Mexican pepperoni balls," he said.

Reyes has been busy cleaning out the 120 year old building. A new roof will be placed on the structure within the next month.  The parking lot will be repaired as soon as next week.  Reyes has also been doing some landscaping work which people seated in an outdoor dining area will enjoy.  But alas, repairs to the famous Maennerchor ballroom will come later.

"Before I show that ballroom to the world, I want to fix it," says Reyes.

The new restaurant will be called "Julius" which, by the way, is Julio's real first name.