City forgives part of Mahogany's loan

Cincinnati taxpayers will forgive nearly two-thirds of the $300,000 loan they gave Liz Rogers to open the failed Mahogany's restaurant under a deal announced Tuesday evening by City Manager Harry Black.

The deal:

* Restructures the loan repayment obligation to $100,000, which is to be repaid in monthly installments of $800. Rogers previously paid $16,131. That means the city is forgiving about $183,869, based on a February update provided by the city.

* Calls for Rogers to relinquish her agreement with The Banks, her mortgage on the property in Hamilton where her first restaurant was located and her life insurance policies.

"This represents the most realistic means for the city to recoup monies owed," Black wrote Tuesday in a memo to City Council.

READ MORE:Mahogany's coverage from The Enquirer

The restructuring comes ahead of a news conference Wednesday morning in which Rogers teased that she would announce a new venture.

"Ms. Rogers has made plans for an upcoming food service business that will best position her to meet her financial obligations to the city," Black wrote. He did not say what the business was.

In 2012, the city – in an effort to lure a minority-owned business to The Banks – lent Rogers $300,000 and gave her a $684,000 grant.

Rogers put her Hamilton restaurant up as collateral and personally guaranteed the loan.

The deal: Pay the loan back over 10 years. If she fell behind, she would repay the grant, too.

The soul food restaurant opened to great fanfare in October 2012 but quickly floundered. Rogers previously told The Enquirer the city didn't live up to its promise to put a hotel, a business and more residents in the development. She is seeking a new location in Over-the-Rhine.

Her first missed payment came in August 2013.

Rogers' landlord at The Banks, NIC Riverfront One, shuttered Mahogany's in September.

In January, the Holy Grail, which was Mahogany's neighbor at The Banks, announced it would expand into that space with an Italian concept. SantoGraal, a 3,250-square-foot restaurant, will offer fresh, traditional Italian fare.

Cincinnati City Councilman Kevin Flynn had called for the city to declare Rogers in default on her loan and grant, but his fellow council members declined.