NEWPORT – A new phone message at the closed Green Derby restaurant promises a reopening under new ownership.

The more than 80-year-old Newport home cooking dining tradition offered a promising new phone message for patrons Nov. 8.

"Sorry, we are temporarily closed at this time," said the phone recording. "We are looking to reopen soon under new management and new ownership."

Who owns the Green Derby restaurant business is unclear.

Northern Kentucky philanthropist David Hosea still owns the building at 846 York St., Newport, through his Green Derby Restaurant LLC, according to property records.

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The Fort Thomas resident purchased Green Derby in 2009 to save the restaurant.

Hosea handed ownership and management to Mike and Melody Brauninger on March 31, 2015, according to a 2015 Enquirer article.

Neither the Brauninger's or Hosea could immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Property taxes on 846 York Street have not been paid for the past three years, according to Campbell County Property Valuation Administration records.

Hosea is invested in properties across the street from Green Derby too.

In 1992, Hosea donated the building for the Henry Hosea House soup kitchen at 901 York St. He also made a 60,000-square-foot former church headquarters for his nonprofit David Hosea Seeds of Hope Foundation. The building is home to other programs including Mentoring Plus – a student mentoring program for children ages 13-18.