Court-appointed receiver takes over Amerigo chain

Restaurant operator agrees to lender's demand that it cede control amid lawsuit over $8.5 million debt

Email | Print By E. Thomas Wood

The operations of Nashville-based Vivid Restaurant Concepts LLC, including Amerigo locations on West End Avenue and in Brentwood, are under new management this week.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger granted a joint motion to appoint a receiver for Vivid. The restaurant chain yielded to demands for the change by creditor General Electric Capital Corp., which filed suit in late December against Vivid, claiming it had defaulted on $8.5 million in loans.

The court named Kevin T. O'Halloran, a turnaround expert with Newbridge Management LLC in Atlanta, as the receiver.

When news of the lawsuit broke, Vivid spokesman Todd Napier told NashvillePost.com that "both parties have agreed for an outside, non-related party to help set up new terms" for the credit relationship. Napier said the outside party would be "involved in the operations, but will not be taking over the operations."

Monday's order, however, immediately granted O'Halloran the exclusive authority to "operate, manage and maintain" the property of Vivid, which has seven upscale casual restaurants in three states. He is also authorized to sell off Vivid's assets, subject to court approval. The order specifies that all personnel of Vivid now work for the receiver, and it required Vivid to turn over to O'Halloran its books and the keys to all of its properties.

Judge Trauger took over the case soon after GE Capital filed suit, as Judge Robert Echols and Judge John Nixon each recused themselves from the case.

Charlie Cook of Adams & Reese LLP is representing GE Capital, along with three attorneys from the Denver office of national law firm Kutak Rock LLP. Vivid has no counsel of record in the case.