Kenneth Wells of Key West, Florida won the top bid of $630,000 after a foreclosure auction ended to see who would get the property that had been owned by the Elevated Mountain Distilling Company since 2016.
The foreclosure auction began on May 24 at 10:00 am on the 1.45-acre property, with the bank’s initial bid of $364,450, with taxes of $583,600. Since there were no new bids, the bidding was closed on July 28th.
Company owner Dave Angel signed a loan of approximately $1.1 million from the Small Business Administration in July 2016 to pay for property and equipment. The last time he paid on a loan was in April 2021, according to court documents. Ultimately, First Citizens Bank, which merged with former lender Entegra Financial Corp. in late 2019, demanded a payment of $1,156,598. Angel this year he filed foreclosure papers on May 2nd.
Wells originally bid for Michaud Resource Management on Indian Trails outside Charlotte. Group owned by BearWaters Brewing Company. Florida resident Mark Cahill, who has long owned a home in Heywood County. Ultimately, the last few bids he ended up with Wells and Micheaux. This investment group is linked to Frankie Wood, and they were talking about his development of the ghost town of Sky, which has been dormant for nearly three years. In a previous interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Angel said he plans to keep him as head of the distillery if Micheaux Resource Management and Wood win.
Wells, who also spends quite a bit of time in the house he owns in Maggie Valley, was thrilled to get the property.
“Yesterday, I called the court 15 minutes before it closed and was told no one had come to bid,” he said.
Wells said his plan is to rent the property to a tenant who operates another distillery.
“I have prospects for some distillers who also distribute. They are already in business,” Wells said. “After I won the bid, I got a call from two people I had talked to beforehand.”