Desperados revival founders

ownership

By Greta JocH em

NORTH ADAMS — Last fall, a trio announced it would now run Desperados, a North Adams restaurant owned by the vice president of the City Council. By December, they had taken to social media to say it was closing.

One reason given was typical: Business has been slow. But another seemed unusual: The restaurant received multiple notices that its furniture and equipment may be repossessed.

“I’m laughing because I am pissed off,” Chris Bonnivier, an investor in the business, said when asked about the situation. The group that stepped in to run the place didn’t do its “due diligence,” he said, by looking into the finances of Desperados — and were not aware of financial problems the business faced.

Peter Oleskiewicz, the former proprietor, owes more than $150,000 in restaurant-related debts, according to court filings. Though the new group was operating the restaurant this fall, it has since backed off a plan to purchase Desperados. Instead, it will open a new restaurant, Full Belly Tex-Mex BBQ, in the space next year, Bonnivier said.

Oleskiewicz — who also owns the Miss Adams Diner in Adams — bought Desperados in 2017. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In September, the restaurant temporarily closed to “restructure” the business. A few weeks later, the restaurant reopened and Bonnivier, Joseph Bevilacqua and Sandra Lopez Nieves announced they would be in charge.

“It was a really tough decision to make, but I feel it was best for everyone,” Oleskiewicz wrote in a statement in September about the change. “I am thrilled to have such an amazing group of people take Desperados to the