Ozark Camera to be sold in trustee's sale

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Ozark Camera Center is set to be sold in a foreclosure sale Nov. 12. The 52-year-old business, at 210 E. Walnut, will be sold, including all inventory, merchandise, stock, machinery, equipment, accounts receivable and all supplies and goods related to the business and the downtown building, according to a legal notice posted in Greene County.

The corporate owner of the business is MK2C LLC, whose principals are Michael and Kevin Chittenden. MK2C has owned the business for three years, purchasing it in July of 1995 from Eugene and Virginia Anderson.

Kevin Chittenden said the company is still exploring its options in terms of what will happen with the business, and, as of now, the company does not plan to file for protection from its creditors under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The property to be sold is securing three promissory notes: one for $125,600, one for $425,000, and another for $48,000. All three notes were loans from Eugene and Virginia Anderson.

The $125,600 loan was for the purchase of the building and was to be paid in 109 monthly principal payments. The $425,000 loan was for the amount due as a result of the redemption of the creditor's stock without interest, and the $48,000 was for MK2C's purchase of the creditor's stock. Both were also to be paid in 109 monthly payments. MK2C was in default on the three notes.

The trustee's sale is scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 12 at the south door of the Greene County Courthouse.

Tim Rosenbury, an investor in the Seville Hotel renovation project, said the principals in that project are "always concerned when there is a change on Walnut Street."

"Ozark Camera is kind of a landmark. I always saw it as a recognizable part of the street. It's always been one of the going businesses along Walnut, and as far as we're concerned, it still is," Rosenbury said.

Rosenbury said the group is interested in what ultimately happens with Ozark Camera because "we've made this commitment and are therefore going to be concerned with what's going on around us."

Kevin Chittenden said Ozark Camera now employs eight people including himself.