Community Foundation sues closed whiskey lounge at Wrigley over $100,000 loan

The Community Foundation of St. Clair County is alleging breach of contract over an unpaid $100,000 loan against the now-closed whiskey distillery and cocktail lounge previously at the Wrigley Center in a civil complaint filed this month.

Renaissance Man Co., operated by founders Aaron Weidman and John Fitzgerald, referred to as John Lewis in the complaint filed June 4, opened their lounge on site at the Wrigley mid-summer 2023 before abruptly closing four months later that November .

Now, the local foundation is asking St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Lane to rule against RenMan., citing damages of $112,419.18, including the loan and interest through June 3, as well as the amount equal to 15% per annum interest or $15,000.

Weidman, RenMan’s CEO, declined comment last week on the issue. An attorney for the company was not listed as of Friday.

Al Francis, the community foundation's attorney, said there wasn’t a ton to add on the issue — only that they had 21 days to respond once served.

Late last week, Randy Maiers, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, said they were disappointed with the outcome of the loan, which came from donor gifts through their men’s group called C3 — an arm of the nonprofit that stands for Community Capital Club — rather than grant funds.

“We took a risk and invested in a couple of young guys who pledged to make a difference in downtown Port Huron, and we really hoped they would honor those pledges and be dedicated to that space. And it didn’t work out,” he said. “… It’s a precarious thing to use foundation money to lend out to small businesses, and we do that because we want to help the downtowns grow.”

“This is a huge failure,” Maiers added, “there’s no two ways around it.”

Overall, Maiers said business loans aren’t too frequent at roughly one or two a year.

When asked, he pointed to the Anchor Point Bistro, a restaurant owned by Mark and Kim Stevens in St. Clair’s Riverview Plaza, as another example of a loan the Community Foundation has made.

“Same exact thing, and I’ll tell you, that’s been one of the most successful loans we’ve ever done,” Maiers said. “They’re always on time with their payments. They’re great to work with. So, we try to keep those successes in mind because successes have outweighed the failures. When you go into business, our board knows we’re taking a chance. … You have to be willing to take both.”

In exchange for $100,000 from the foundation in early 2023, Renaissance Man reportedly agreed to a promissory note, declaring their intent to pay it back. A default notice went out to Weidman on Jan. 30 this year, according to court records, in part referencing the lender’s right to implement a 15% default rate.

Agreements with RenMan wasn’t the only entity associated with the Wrigley Center where the Community Foundation played a role.

According to property records, the nonprofit lent funds associated with Wrigley Center Entertainment LLC and Dan Dooley, who operated Wrigley Hall on the premises of the Wrigley Center development at 318 Grand River Ave. until several eateries and bars closed under the “hall” umbrella early this year . However, as of last week, no other complaints had been filed by the foundation.

The space occupied by RenMan, located at the northeast corner of the Wrigley complex, has remained out of use. It was part of a broader commercial area leased by the city of Port Huron’s Downtown Development Authority in a 10-year agreement and in turn subleased to the former RenMan and Wrigley Hall.

Since then, both City Manager James Freed and Larry Jones, who owns the Wrigley Center, said the city’s lease was still on the books but in turn being subleased by an outfit under Jones as the developer planned to reopen venues left by Wrigley Hall .

On Friday, Jones said they were set to open the Colony Club on site at the Wrigley as a nod to the former Colony Bar that historically occupied 321 Huron Ave.  — another property Jones owns and that’s now occupied by Senior Tequila’s. A Facebook account for the Colony Club had been formed , announcing opening seven days a week starting on Monday.

Other commerical and retail businesses have also opened at the Wrigley within the last few months .

For more, email thewrigleycenter@gmail.com .

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Community Foundation sues closed whiskey lounge at Wrigley over $100,000 loan