Court filing confirms the death of meat, poultry and seafood institution Penn Dutch
Tuesday’s liquidation filing in Broward County confirmed what was anticipated after South Florida institution Penn Dutch closed both stores last week:
Penn Dutch, seller of meat, poultry and seafood, is dead at 44. Cause of death: debt and listeria.
Listeria infected both Penn Dutch locations, the original Hollywood location and its 15-year-old Margate store, for the second time this year. After announcing the Hollywood store was closed permanently, Penn Dutch held a going-out-of-business sale at the Margate location in defiance of Florida Department of Agriculture Stop Use Orders on some areas and equipment in the store.
“Observed three employees/individuals leaving the (Future Room) with shopping cart as the inspector entered the department and observed Stop Use tape broke at rear door of Future Room,” an inspector wrote.
An Immediate Final Order from Ag Department Commissioner Nikki Fried shut down that sale.
Philip J. von Kahle, president of Michael Moecker & Associates, has been appointed to liquidate Penn Dutch’s assets and distribute them to the company’s creditors.
According to the filing, Penn Dutch has a tractor trailer worth $40,000, a box truck worth $10,000 and furniture/fixtures/machinery worth $150,000. Of course, some of that last category might be still under Stop Use Orders Ag Department inspections.
The filing says Penn Dutch has $139,041 in its payroll bank account, $9,027 in its operating bank account and $490 in its business account.
Just among the 20 secured creditors, Penn Dutch owes $14,016 in back taxes to Broward County and $2,419,587 to National Cooperative Bank. There are 85 unsecured creditors.
Penn Dutch is also the defendant in a U.S. District Court in Miami civil suit filed by produce suppliers Sun City and Fresh Point of South Florida who want a combined $480,134.
