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North Tahoe Mellow Fellow closes after property’s foreclosure

Kayla Anderson
Special to the Sun-Bonanza
As seen Sunday, the Mellow Fellow location on Highway 28 at the NV/CA state line shut down this week.
Courtesy Kayla Anderson |

Correction

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the name of the company that purchased the property. The correct company is EVO Real Estate Opportunities, Inc., located in Squaw Valley. The Sun-Bonanza regrets the error.

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Visit mellowfellowpub.com to learn more about Mellow Fellow.

KINGS BEACH, Calif. — On Sunday afternoon, after the big 50-percent-off-everything-closing party, there is little activity as a couple of bartenders attempt to sell the last six beers on tap.

The Mellow Fellow in Kings Beach had already run out of food the day before, and the chalkboard that usually lists out 40 beers is pretty much wiped clean.

“We’re down to the very scraps,” said Mellow Fellow Owner Ryan Eller.



Saturday night’s closing party brought out a lot of people; Eller and the bartenders said they were busy the whole time.

In town for the weekend from Bend, Ore., Tim Coleman and Suzanne Karnofski went to Mellow Fellow Saturday afternoon.



“When we got there they were already out of food and had only high-percentage beers left. But they had a decent crowd out enjoying the sun and live music,” they said.

Mellow Fellow had been operating as a brewpub in the 9980 North Lake Blvd. location, bordering the North Tahoe state line on the California side, since June 2012 but recently lost its lease due to the property being sold.

“An investment group bought this property in a foreclosure auction in early September, and our lease did not carry over,” says Eller.

According to the Placer County Recorder’s office, a public sale of the defaulted property took place Sept. 6 in Roseville, Calif.

According to public records, the roughly 5,600-square-foot property sold for $430,000 on Sept. 21 to EVO Real Estate Opportunities, Inc., located in Squaw Valley.

The property’s former landlord, John G. Arden, was keeping the rent money instead of paying the mortgage, Eller said, which caused the property to go into foreclosure.

Arden was unable to be reached for comment for this story.

Eller said that due to maintenance and upkeep costs to keep the business going, Mellow Fellow wasn’t interested in buying the property.

“We had a cracked back patio, the bathroom needs to be upgraded to be ADA-compliant, the parking lot needs to be repaved; it would take a lot to keep it going,” he said.

Eller said that normally landlords help bring issues like this up to code, but Arden has been unresponsive.

Arden formerly operated the Straddles Border Stop diner that opened at the location in 2005, but it had been closed for years before Eller leased it from him in 2012.

“I paid rent every month for four and a half years, and the landlord was keeping all of the money,” said Eller.

“But I have nothing negative to say about the new owners; they’ve been very cordial and cooperative,” he added about the transition.

Mellow Fellow is moving out its equipment this week, and the new owners are expected to take over the building Oct. 30. Eller said that he was not sure what kind of business will open next in that location.

Mellow Fellow still maintains its other brewpubs in Truckee and Downtown Reno, as well as its newest location in Virginia City, which opened this summer.

The company is known for selling a variety of craft beers, with at least 40 selections available on tap at all times.


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