More than two years after closing, one of the buildings of the closed butcher shop White’s Meat Market is up for auction.
The online only auction, currently ongoing until Jan. 16 and put on by Krueckeberg Auction & Realty, includes the building at 2100 N. Washington St. and is aimed at recouping as much as possible of a multimillion dollar mortgage debt associated with the Whites’ business locations in Kokomo and Tipton and their personal residence in Cutler.
Also up for auction is the residential property owned by the Whites at 385 S. 00 EW, Kokomo.
As of Wednesday morning, the residential property has received two bids totaling $69,627. The commercial building on North Washington Street has not received a bid as of press time.
White’s Meat Market, formerly owned by Howard and Vicki White, closed in 2022 after 37 years. Howard White died last April, and Vicki White died a few months later in July, according to online obituaries.
Shortly after the business closed, Byline Bank sued the couple and the business for a mortgage foreclosure, alleging the Whites had defaulted on the debt and seeking from the court a foreclosure and proceeds from any sale of the properties.
The bank was granted summary judgement a few months later after the Whites failed to respond to the lawsuit.
White’s Meat Market, in the summer of 2022, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, reporting $155,000 in personal property assets and nearly $3.2 million in liabilities, including to Byline Bank and $1.1 million owed to Troyer Foods, an Indiana food, supplies and equipment supplier.
Separately, Vicki White was sued by the property owner of the business’ south Kokomo location at 30 Southdowns Drive.
According to the lawsuit, the Whites entered into a land contract for the property but stopped making the monthly payment in and after May 2024. The property owner, Robert Thiemrodt, was granted default judgment and foreclosure last month in the sum of $58,837.
OIL LEAK INVESTIGATION
On Aug. 25, 2023, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management was notified of a petroleum leak that had infiltrated the groundwater under White’s Meat Market at 2100 N. Washington St.
According to an investigation report by ETS Environmental & Associates filed with IDEM in January 2024, an old underground gas storage tank was leaking petroleum into the groundwater.
While the property has long been used as a butcher shop, it was previously a gas station prior to 1967, which was in operation since at least 1947.
ETS Environmental & Associates found elevated concentrations of Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, and 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene in groundwater on the west and southwest parts of the property, all which exceeded IDEM’s long term residential screening level, according to the report.
It’s unclear when the leak began, but the report states the impact of the petroleum leak is “likely migrating offsite” to the west of the property.
“As such, further assessment within the right of way to the west, along North Washington Street, appears warranted,” the report states. “Further assessment is necessary in order to determine the plume’s western extent.”
That said, the report points out there are no registered groundwater wells within a quarter mile of the property. Thus, the report states, “nearby water wells appear to be at a safe distance and screened at depths unlikely to be influenced by the historic release.”
There’s been no filings in the case since January 2024.
In a statement to the Tribune, IDEM is “in contact with the owner and their consultants, and we are awaiting additional documentation and sampling information to be submitted. Upon receipt, IDEM will review and determine if any further investigation is required for site closure.”