Bankruptcy judge approves 1663 purchase of Sickles Market and Rumson Home

LITTLE SILVER, NJ — In a breaking news story on the Sickles Market bankruptcy saga, a federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the proposed Sickles Market property purchase to proceed.

The Honorable Christine Gravelle announced her decision on Tuesday and allowed a proposal from an LLC called 1663 Partners to move forward.

1663 Partners is made up of three Rumson residents, Jennifer Griffin Karp, Dennis Devine and former council candidate Timothy McCooey. They are seeking to purchase three properties currently owned by Robert Sickles Jr. and his wife: The six-acre property at 1 Harrison Avenue, where the market and all related assets are located; a one-acre property at 5 Harrison Avenue, right next door, where a small house is located; and third, the Sickles’ private family home on Heathcliff Road in Rumson. (The liquor license used by Bottles by Sickles has already been sold.)

With yesterday’s court approval, the sale can now go ahead. This is big news.

How much does 1663 Partners pay for all this?

A final sale price has not yet been determined, said Dan Stolz, chairman of the bankruptcy department of the large New Jersey law firm Genova Burns. Sickles had hired Genova Burns as his bankruptcy attorney.

“(A sale price) has not been determined. I can’t even answer that, I don’t have the financial means,” Stolz said. “A judge allowed the plan to proceed yesterday and all parties are now talking to each other and evaluating the plan.”

Whenever that price is made public, it will be a hefty sum: The two Little Silver properties combined, including the Sickles Market building and its grounds, were valued at $6.25 million, according to court records. But the Sickles believe the land is worth far more.

Her home in Rumson was also valued at $2.4 million.

1663 Partners plans to reopen Sickles Market and operate it as a deli and garden center. Sickles Jr. and his two daughters will work there and are expected to earn six-figure salaries. They will also receive a minority stake (5 percent) in the market. Sickles and his wife will be allowed to continue living in their Rumson home as tenants, but will not have to pay rent immediately. The agreement is that they have the option to buy the home back from 1663 Partners.

This all comes from a letter of intent between Sickles and 1663 Partners, the details of which were announced by Patch last week.

1663 Partners proposes building residential buildings around the market: They propose demolishing the small house at Harrison 5 and building residential buildings there, Stolz said Wednesday.

Are you thinking of condos? He said he couldn’t answer that.

“The idea is that they keep the market open and build residential areas around it,” he said. “Right now they are looking at what is the best and best use for this land.”

Patch responded that Little Silver residents might not respond positively to new housing construction.

“They’re all residents of the area, they know the area,” he said, referring to the 1663 trio. “They all believe that reopening the market will increase the value of the property for residential use. I also know that they’ve already spoken to the town of Little Silver (about building residential homes).”

Are 1663 partners personal friends of the Sickles?

No, Stolz said. He said it was just a trio of residents who had heard that Sickles, a local institution, had filed for bankruptcy. After finding Sickles’ bankruptcy filing online, they contacted Stolz, who put them in touch with his client, Bob Sickles Jr.

What happens next?

Now that a federal judge has approved the 1663 Plan, it must be presented to everyone who still owes Bob Sickles money, including all employees who worked for him, the bank, and all meat and produce companies that have not yet been paid for their food deliveries (they owe a total of $1.3 million), as well as other creditors.

For the 1663 plan to pass, a majority of these parties – two-thirds – must agree to it, with the proviso that some or all of their debts be repaid, Stolz said.

“The former employees of the market and liquor store will receive the wages they are owed in full,” Sickles’ attorney said. “They will definitely be paid in full. Sickles has made it clear from the beginning that all employees will be paid. There are other creditors they may try to negotiate with. There are some claims that we will probably dispute, and they will either be paid in full or in an amount that they agree to.”

While all this is happening, the Sickles family is also trying to prevent the bank from foreclosing on their Rumson home before the 1663 deal goes through: Last week, Northfield Bank filed a motion to begin foreclosure proceedings on the Heathcliff property. Genova Burns filed a motion to object on Tuesday. Stolz and his team argue that the 1663 plan is a way to keep the Sickles in their home.

“We are convinced that they have more than sufficient security and hope that the judge will reject their request,” Stolz said.

“The Sickles family operated this market from 1908 until the COVID crisis hit,” Stolz said. “For years they supported themselves, their employees and the community. Then they opened the Red Bank branch, an extraordinary financial burden that came right at the time COVID hit. Nobody left their house. Every business suffered. All of these factors came together for people who had been operating successfully and profitably for years. They fell into a financial black hole that they couldn’t get out of.”

The wow effect from last Wednesday: New owner seeks to take over and reopen Sickles Market (August 21)

Further details Friday: Further details on proposed Sickles land deal announced (August 23)