Tom Quick Inn on the auction block

MILFORD - A Milford and Pike County landmark appears to be headed for the Sheriff’s auction block next month. Opposite the Courthouse at 411 Broad Street, the Tom Quick Inn has long been a favorite watering hole for attorneys and politicians. But the restaurant has now been closed for months and Pike Prothonotary records indicate that owner Abraham Wohl will need to come up with more than $800,000 to avoid foreclosure. Based on court records, Wohl’s financial problems began in March of 2005, when the J.P. Morgan Bank of West Palm Beach, Fla., filed for and in June was awarded foreclosure on a $216,000 mortgage. That decision was vacated in February of this year. But more trouble came with a second foreclosure sought by Quantum Corporate of Funding based in New York. That $820,000 decision was granted by the court in May of this year. By that time Quantum’s suit had been joined by a still undecided lien by KeyCoDistributors, a restaurant food wholesaler, seeking some $24,000. KeyCo filed at the end of March of this year. A third foreclosure effort came from Peter Lum of Stroudsburg. Court records do not indicate a dollar amount sought by Lum, who filed his action in April of this year. Sheriff’s Department Office Manager Dawn Fuller said an auction, which would be held at the County Administration Building, is scheduled for Aug. 16. Wohl could avoid the foreclosure auction by making good on the debt before that date, she said. Foreclosure could lead to complications for many people other than Wohl and his creditors. While the restaurant is closed, some 17 residential rooms in the sprawling frame building are occupied by tenants. Their safety has come into question as Milford Borough Code Officer Duane Kuhn says he has investigated alleged building code violations involving the Inn’s electrical service. Kuhn would not discuss the status of the investigation other than to say it is unresolved. Wohl, who is listed in court records as residing at an East Stroudburg address, could not be reached for comment. Court records show Robert M. Masking Jr. represented Wohl in the J.P. Morgan proceeding. Masking could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the Milford Magisterial District Court in Milford said Wohl also is due at an upcoming criminal hearing before Magistrate Debbie Fisher on a “bad checks” charge. His attorney, Wieslaw Niemoczynski of Stroudsburg, had not responded to a telephone request for an interview as the Courier went to press Thursday. Beth Kelley, of the borough’s Architectural Review Board, said the Tom Quick Inn, named for a controversial Indian fighter and member of one of Milford’s first families, was opened as such in 1950. Owner Robert C. Phillips later sold the inn to Richard Lutfy, who in turn operated it for many years. Prior to 1950 the existing inn building was two separate hotels, the Center Square House and the Terwilliger House. They were operated by two sisters, Corinne Beck Frieh and Amanda Beck Terwilliger. The Second Empire Terwilliger House, on the right side facing Broad Street, is the oldest of the two. It was built in the 1880s. The inn’s kitchen and restaurant were renovated after a serious fire damaged the inn two decades ago. The two hotels, joined as the Tom Quick Inn, are probably the largest single building in the borough, Kelley said.