The action did not affect Red Bell's brewpub at the First Union Center, which accounted for all of the company's $26,178 in sales during the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Matthew Goldstein, Red Bell's attorney, said yesterday that the company was trying to resolve the tax matter with the Department of Revenue and the Department of Labor so its operating license could be reactivated.
Spellman said yesterday that Red Bell, which was founded in 1993 and has accumulated losses of $11.5 million, was shrinking its operations in a bid to survive.
It has an agreement to sell its Brewerytown building to Westrum Land Development L.L.C., a Fort Washington home builder, for $890,000. Closing is expected on Feb. 4.
Proceeds would be used to pay back taxes and to reduce the company's debt, Spellman said. In its quarterly report for the three months ended Sept. 30, Red Bell listed liabilities of $6.7 million and assets of $1.9 million.
Red Bell would continue to lease office space in the building, according to the sale agreement, but it would no longer brew beer there, Spellman said.
The company's bottled beers would be brewed by F.X. Matt & Co., a Utica, N.Y., contract brewer. The brewing license would be necessary to enter into the contract with Matt.
A Red Bell brewpub under construction on Main Street in Manayunk is still on track for a March opening, and the vats are to be delivered shortly, Spellman said.
The Manayunk brewpub would be Red Bell's second attempt to open a freestanding restaurant in Philadelphia. The company entered into an agreement with a venture-capital group in 1999. Shortly before completion of the project, next to the Convention Center, the joint venture filed for bankruptcy. Red Bell was evicted, and the brewpub was sold to new operators.
For two years, Red Bell tried unsuccessfully to open a brewpub in State College. Its landlord took possession of the property in July.
Last March, Red Bell converted into a public company, giving its 429 existing shareholders a chance to sell their stakes in the public market. Its shares opened at $5.50 on the OTC Bulletin Board. As has been the case with at least 10 microbreweries that tested the stock market in the 1990s, the shares quickly lost most of their value because the companies were not profitable.
They closed at 3.5 cents yesterday.
Founder Bell, who signed a contract in September paying him $89,500 a year, resigned last Thursday. Three days before, Bell - who had owned 956,833 shares of Red Bell stock at the end of 2000 - filed for personal bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. He did not return a phone call yesterday seeking comment.
Michael Klein's e-mail address is mklein@phillynews.com.
