Newburgh tiki bar petitions for protection

Tiki bars do not fare well during rainy summer, according to a Newburgh establishment.

AMK Tiki LLC, better known as Jet Set, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on April 10 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Poughkeepsie.

“Due to many unforeseen circumstances, including the rise of labor costs and cost of goods and an extremely rainy 2023 summer season,” co-owner Margaret Lloyd states in an affidavit, “AMK fell behind on its rent obligation.”

A group of investors from Orange and Dutchess counties formed Jet Set in 2022 and opened that September on Front Street along the Hudson riverfront.

The decor, as one would expect, congers a tropical ambiance. A 30-foot aluminum jet fuselage evokes the bars name and the mid-century heyday of air travel when tiki bars proliferated. The cocktail list features the standard permutations of rum: daiquiri, Mai Tai, piña colada, zombie and much more.

Jet Set has asked the court for permission to pay wages, benefits and tax deductions owned to eight employees for work already done.

“In order to achieve a successful reorganization,” Lloyd says in her affidavit, “it is essential that the debtor’s employees work with the same or greater degree of commitment and diligence as they did prior to the petition date.”

If the motion is not granted, “significant deterioration in morale among employees would result at this critical time, which undoubtedly would have a devastating impact on the debtors, its customers … and the debtor’s ability to reorganize.”

AMK Tiki declared $203,505 in assets and $505,441 in liabilities.

Most of the debt, $356,740, is in the form of loans owed to ten people.  Jet Set also owes about $63,000 in back rent to Riverfront Realty Newburgh, $52,000 in trade debt, and $32,000 in state sales taxes.

The tiki bar made $312,653 during 2022’s last four months, $757,298 last year, and $130,735 as of April 10.

Co-owners include David Lloyd, Joseph and Stephanie Nunnari, and Michael and Alexandra Kelly.

The goal is to “propose a reasonable plan to repay the arrears to the landlord,” Margaret Lloyd stated, and reorganize its other obligations.

AMK Tiki is represented by Wappingers Falls attorney Michelle L. Trier.