A failed Irish bistro in Rhinebeck has made a deal to sell its meagre assets and surrender its location to the German influenced Wunderbar Bistro that was destroyed by fire last year.
Bia Hospitality, the operator of Bia bistro, disclosed the deal when it petitioned for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Poughkeepsie, on Feb. 17.
Meanwhile, Wunderbar, destroyed in an August 2025 fire, has announced plans to reopen this March in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, 23 miles from its previous home in Hudson, Columbia County.
“From the ashes something beautiful is rising,” Wunderbar announced on its website. “New space. New Energy. Same unforgettable experience.”
Bia opened in 2019 and closed on Feb. 8. Owner Kyle Kelley cited “many unforeseen circumstances,” in a bankruptcy affidavit, including rising labor and food costs and the Covid-19 pandemic. Revenue of $589,195 in 2024 fell to $500,492 last year.
Bia declared $19,659 in assets and $462,715 in liabilities.
The business assets consist of some food and alcohol, bar and kitchen equipment, and furniture. Bia owes $151,372 on a loan from Kelley, $105,620 to the U.S. Small Business Administration, $68,700 in state sales taxes, and $63,449 to the Bank of Greene County.
Two years remain on a lease on 22 Garden St. in Rhinebeck.
Kelley has been trying to sell the restaurant since 2022. He states in an affidavit that he has received a few offers but does not say with whom or for how much.
On Dec. 31, he struck a deal with Wunderbar’s owner, Lyle Lentz, to sell his business assets for $70,000. The price includes $10,000 for equipment, $30,000 for the lease, and $30,000 for goodwill.
Two pieces of equipment are excluded from the sale: an espresso machine and an espresso grinder.
The proposed price is far less than the $169,000 in liens held by The Bank of Greene County and the U.S. Small Business Administration, so Bia needs court approval for the deal.
Bia’s attorney, Michelle L. Trier, argues in a motion to approve the sale that the deal is still in the best interest of secured creditors because “it is unlikely that any greater recovery will be achieved for the creditors in an alternate scenario.”
