Latino cultural hub Plaza Mariachi (Nashville) in bankruptcy proceedings

https://nashvillebanner.com/2024/07/08/plaza-mariachi-nashville-future/?utm_medium=email

...."Whether it’s faith night, salsa night, a soccer game viewing or one of many other free offerings, the retail space on Nolensville Pike is packed more often than not. For college students, Plaza Mariachi has been the go-to place for a night of dancing away from Lower Broadway. For families across the city, it has been an easy destination for some novelty family fun. And for Latino immigrant communities of Nashville, it has been a vital space for something recognizable away from their home countries.

But now, the future of Plaza Mariachi is uncertain.
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Mark Janbakhsh first bought the building, formerly home to a Kroger, for $1.9 million in 2013. It opened as Plaza Mariachi in 2017. In the years since, Janbakhsh found himself in a myriad of legal troubles. Though that didn’t stop the venue from becoming and remaining a thriving center for Latino culture and commerce in Nashville, even today.
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In some ways the flourishing environment at Plaza Mariachi has felt removed from the trouble hanging over its owner. In 2022, Janbakhsh was indicted on 18 counts of fraud.

In addition to proprietorship of Plaza Mariachi, Janbakhsh was also the majority owner and CEO of the Tennessee car dealership chain Auto Masters. He and Steven Piper, the CFO, allegedly defrauded banks for millions of dollars, some of which went toward the development of Plaza Mariachi. That case was set to go to trial in June but was recently postponed and has not yet been rescheduled.

Janbakhsh owed a debt of $11 million to First Financial Bank for the development of Plaza Mariachi. On July 1, less than 24 hours away from a scheduled foreclosure sale, Plaza Mariachi filed for bankruptcy." ...(more at link)