Betsy Ross Bankruptcy Ends An Era

Betsy Ross Bankruptcy

Thursday is the next day for proceedings which may be giving an emotional tug at the historical heart strings of the area.

For those who haven’t noticed, the Betsy Ross Shop in Nickels Arcade is closed. Frequented in past years by students, businessmen and other townspeople, the restaurant has been a fixture in the arcade for nearly 60 years.

The proceedings are in bankruptcy and are before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Brody in Detroit.

Now adjudicated as being bankrupt, the court office reports, is the Betsy Ross Shoppe, Inc. The principal in the corporation is Lynn Mead of Ypsilanti, who bought the establishment in 1971.

Thursday, at 10:30 a.m., has been set as the time for the first “official” meeting of creditors.

The restaurant has been closed since June 19 by the appointed receiver, Richard A. Beaupre, an Ann Arbor certified public accountant.

Termed in the past one of the county’s oldest licensed restaurants, the establishment became one of the first tenants of Nickels Arcade in 1918. It reportedly had its beginnings in 1916 at 600 E. Liberty St.

Now, according to those involved in the Court proceedings, it is headed for liquidation.

“It’s a shame it has been closed down,” commented attorney Jeremy Rose, speaking for his client Mead.

He blamed the inability of the restaurant to receive a liquor license, while other new establishments in the State Street area were obtaining them, as a factor in the demise of the Betsy Ross.

He also cited the influx of fast food outlets into the area.

“The small businessman can’t compete “with chains and large organizations, Rose said.

The restaurant some 2% years ago ran into a hassle with local health authorities.

More recently, however, it had been remodeled.