Race Rock auction planned

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 9:33 a.m.

The downtown Race Rock Cafe plans to auction off a majority of its assets in January, an auction that coincides with a recent confidential court settlement with Martin-Harris Construction, which alleged the restaurant owed the company $1 million in unpaid construction fees.

The Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. announced this week that more than 150 items from the Race Rock -- including race cars, monster trucks, drivers' suits and racing memorabilia -- would be auctioned Jan. 17-20 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Race Rock representatives in April closed the restaurant temporarily, saying that the nearby construction at Neonopolis had led to a drop in revenue. The restaurant was slated to reopen when Neonopolis opens in April 2002.

Race Rock corporate representatives did not return calls for comment regarding the auction, but several downtown business sources said the restaurant was closed for good.

The temporary closure of Race Rock Cafe in April came on the heels of a lawsuit and mechanics lien filed against the restaurant by Martin-Harris, attempting to force an auction of the property to cover more than the alleged $1 million in unpaid construction fees.

The lawsuit was settled in September, but citing a confidentiality agreement, Martin-Harris representatives could not comment on the outcome.

The 30,000-square-foot, two-level restaurant held a large collection of memorabilia from all forms of motorsport.

Timothy McGrane, executive vice president for Barrett-Jackson, said the auction includes a majority of Race Rock's merchandise, but not everything. McGrane said the auction company is in discussions with Race Rock to auction the remaining merchandise in the restaurant.