Future of Seafare Inn to be Decided in Court Friday

The future of the building at 3352 East Main Road will be decided in Newport Superior Court this Friday.

The structure, a Victorian mansion circa-1887 once owned by Frederick Webb, founder of the clothing store Cherry & Webb, was restored by owner George Karousos in the late 1980s. 

It housed Karousos' restaurant, the Seafare Inn, for more than 25 years. Apollo Partner has offered $449,000 for the property, which was placed in receivership, a state form of bankruptcy, after banks foreclosed on Karousos' assets last December.

Prior to foreclosure, Karousos had been working with Portsmouth Hospitality, LLC, to build a 59-room hotel behind the restaurant.  The town had approved zoning for a hotel on the lot last year.

William Delaney was appointed receiver for the property. Delaney, president-elect of the Rhode Island Bar Association, has reviewed the current offer with creditors who have claims against Karousos. 

On Friday, Delaney will present the court with a "petition to sell" the property to Apollo Partner, a Portsmouth company. 

"They're probably an entity created specifically for the purpose of this purchase," Delaney explained.  The bid includes rights to all zoning permits, free of all liens, for the 7.34-acre lot, which has been valued at $1.04 million. 

According to the Portsmouth Historical Society, Henry Clay Anthony originally gifted this property to his daughter, Alice Wilcox Anthony Webb, wife of Frederick Webb. Webb's retail store, Cherry & Webb, spanned across five New England states with more than 35 locations before filing Chapter 11 in 2000. 

Karousos purchased the property in 1985.  In addition to the Seafare Inn, he owned and operated the International Institute of Culinary Arts and several fine-dining establishments in the area, including the Abbey Grill and Giorgio's Steakhouse in Fall River. 

Karousos is a master chef and published author of the cookbook, "The Seafare's Culinary Treasures." He had converted the mansion into a restaurant serving regional American cuisine with seven dining rooms, manicured lawns, and accommodations for parties of up to 165 guests.

After the Seafare closed in 2007, the building was vandalized and left exposed to the elements. It has since been boarded up and secured.

William J. Delaney of Barrington is a partner of Delaney & DeMerchant LLC in Providence. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of Rhode Island Legal Services and is currently a member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court's MCLE Committee. 

Delaney recently completed his 10th year as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University School of Law and his first year at Western New England School of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut Bar Associations.