Oz, popular French Quarter dance club, declares bankruptcy, to be sold at auction

Oz, which bills itself as "New Orleans #1 gay dance club," will be sold to the highest bidder during a July 22 auction in bankruptcy court.

The action comes after the owners -- Johnny Chisholm, Doyle Yeager and Bobby Warner -- were unable to pay off millions of dollars in loans that came due last summer. To avoid foreclosure, they declared bankruptcy in October but couldn't come up with a workable refinancing plan, forcing them to sell the business and property located at 800 Bourbon St.

Attorney Caleb Didriksen, who represents Warner, said an interested party has already entered a bid of $4.75 million. If that particular bidder wins, it's his intention to continue to operate the bar as the Oz, Didriksen said.

"I understand from the current high bidder that it's his goal to purchase it by mid-August, specifically to be able to control it before Southern Decadence (Sept. 2-7) because that will be a big money maker," Didriksen said. "Financially, I think it is most likely any new owner would want to build on the existing business. They wouldn't want to just trash can the whole thing."

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