Business & Tech

McCourt: Everything Must Go

Staring down an eviction, the owner of Hatboro's McCourt's Farm to Table restaurant is looking to sell the eatery's contents.

Everything is for sale except the walls.

Giving up hope that an agreement can be reached with landlord Sam Braccia, Kevin McCourt, the owner of , instead of , is now looking for a new owner for the restaurant’s goods. 

McCourt said he’s hoping to find someone to purchase the tables, chairs and kitchen equipment that comprises the eatery. Formerly On A Roll deli, McCourt's restaurant opened Feb. 10 and closed less than four months later. 

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“I’m hoping to find someone who would want a business there,” McCourt said, adding that some of the equipment would be impossible to remove unless walls were knocked down. “I built the walls around the equipment.”

McCourt’s eviction - stemming from three months of non-payment of rent - could come by month's end. Craig M. Caliendo, an attorney for Braccia, said possession papers were filed Tuesday afternoon with Willow Grove district court. 

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An official at Willow Grove district court, which ruled in favor of Braccia last month, said Tuesday that once possession is filed, McCourt would have 10 days to vacate the property - or be put out the following day by the constable.

When reached Tuesday morning, Braccia said McCourt was given opportunities to settle the matter, but chose not to do so.

“We won the case, now we want to get them out,” Braccia said. “He wouldn’t do what my daughter asked him to do.” 

When asked what McCourt had failed to do, Braccia responded, “I don’t know.”

McCourt had said he hoped to negotiate a deal that would allow him to remain in Hatboro, but that Braccia and Harbison have refused to speak to him directly, instead referring him to their attorneys. 

“Several people have contacted the family on our behalf,” McCourt said. “The word we got from their attorney is nothing is negotiable.”

Not so, according to Caliendo. 

"I, on behalf of my clients, have held off seeking possession of the premises and attempted to amicably resolve this matter directly with their attorney (as required by professional rules of legal conduct), presenting a settlement resolution which was more than fair under the circumstances," Caliendo wrote in an e-mail to Patch Tuesday afternoon. "In fact, their attorney agreed as much. Despite said offer, Mr. McCourt, through his attorney, advised he was turning down my clients’ offer and instead choosing to sell their business."

making necessary repairs to bring the building up to code, as well as to renovate it.

Caliendo, in his e-mail, suggested that McCourt's situation is similar to the new owners of the formerly shuttered , who hope to reopen soon as a family diner. 

"Where it differs is the individuals in that case did their 'homework' on costs associated with opening the diner, that which McCourt and associates failed to do but have now blamed my clients for their lack of diligence," Caliendo wrote. 

McCourt said he wants to recoup some of the money he and Civitello invested in the property and is hoping to get $65,000 for the restaurant’s contents.

“I’m not giving up on the idea of the restaurant,” McCourt said. “I’m giving up on the idea of a restaurant in a Sam Braccia property.”


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