Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 16, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 7 W "You want profits, not more revenues. You don't take percentages home. You take dollars home," Tibrewal said. In the third year, the business scaled back to only events and catering. Tibrewal was talking to Clark University about bringing in more events, sat on the board of Mechanics Hall to develop more community connections, and was building corporate relationships. e business was profitable for the first time on $500,000 in revenue. "We had a great community of people who supported us," Tibrewal said. Yet, Mariano was far more heavily involved in the operations than she wanted to be. With Electric Haze and Spiritual Haze, she had set up the businesses and then turned them over to staff to run largely on their own. Bull Mansion was taking up too much of her time. "We saw our part in Bull Mansion more as landlords, less like operators," Mariano said. In mid-2019, they began to look for investors or a third party to lease the facility. Redemption Rock Brewing Co. and Cambridge restaurant Henrietta's Table toured the space, Mariano said, but nothing ever came of it. In September, the Bull Mansion had its liquor license seized by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue over nonpayment of about $60,000 of meals taxes, and events scheduled for the space had to go elsewhere. e business never reopened. Sold at a 138% increase But in the same month, Tibrewal and Mariano signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to sell the Bull Mansion for $1.16 million to Rhode Island real estate investor Jackson Song through his company Arkland LLC. Song was previously a professor of stone artwork in China, and he was impressed by the historic Bull Mansion's exterior. "I really like stone buildings, and that is why we bought this building," Song said. Mariano and Tibrewal originally listed the Bull Mansion for $1.2 million, even though most commercial real estate brokers they spoke to felt its value was closer to $900,000, Mariano said. e property was last assessed by the City of Worcester for $699,900. "Worcester is attracting outside investors from all over, who are willing to pay more," Mariano said. "Investors from Worcester are so cheap. No one thought we would get what we sold it for." e deal closed in January. Aer paying off their loans and their tax debt, Mariano and Tibrewal received a check for $344,000. Factoring all they invested into operating the Bull Mansion restaurant and events space for three years, they didn't come out ahead on the deal. "We didn't make a profit. We broke even," Mariano said. As for the future of the Bull Mansion, Song said he has signed a lease with California entrepreneur Nick Greco, who wants to open a restaurant in the space. Greco originally planned on creating a science fiction-themed cafe, but since the nonprofit Preservation Worcester has a historic restriction on the property, the amount and type of renovations able to be done to the interior and exterior of the building is limited. "What is going to go there? Who knows?" Greco said. "We do want to be good neighbors, and the best way to do that is to work hand-in-hand with Preservation Worcester on the plans for the building." The partnership lives on Mariano and Tibrewal still plan to work together, investing in real estate. Tibrewal is working to bring in other investors as well. "We are just getting started," Tibrewal said. "Our focus now is strategic investment, and not operating." e duo are looking at offer letters for certain properties around Worcester, particularly those already with a positive cash flow. If a property has a business on it, the company must already be established and operating, they said. "Nothing that requires us to be operators," Mariano said. "ere needs to be no risk involved. We want to get this venture started the right way." The Bull Mansion is now owned by Johnston, R.I. investment firm Arkland LLC, which is run by former Chinese professor Jackson Song.

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