Lingo's Market property brings $4,330,000 at auction
Hundreds of people crowded around the corner of First Street and Baltimore Avenue Saturday afternoon, watching as Dinah Lingo, through her attorney Rob Gibbs, cast the high bid of $4,330,000 to take full ownership of the century-old Lingo Market property.
Teary eyed and surrounded by members of her family, Lingo held a plastic-framed photograph of her mother showing her smiling and standing at her familiar post by the cash register in the popular Rehoboth market. She walked back in the market after the auction ended and placed, emphatically, the framed photo on one of the checkout corners.
"I did it for her. I did it for my mother, and my father and my grandparents," said Lingo.
Her niece, Jessica Lingo, said she and her aunt plan to replace equipment in the store that's been removed over the past several months and have the market open for the 2010 summer season.
Jeff Zerby, whose family owns the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel, took the bidding past $4,000,000 under the encouragement of auctioneer Butch Emmert. Appealing to Zerby, Emmert worked for a higher bid. "Go ahead and say $5 million and knock them out," said Emmert. "Then you can own the two nicest properties in town." But after Gibbs, taking cues from Dinah, hit the $4,330,000 mark, Zerby and all other bidders backed off.
Emmert gave his going once, going twice final calls and then shouted sold with a firm finger pointed toward Gibbs. Zerby, still itching for the property, sent in another bid at the last second through Butch's son, Will. The late effort came just as the s of sold whistled out of Butch's mouth. Butch looked around, but Gibbs brought him back quickly. "I heard sold," said Gibbs. Emmert agreed; the sale ended.
Archie Lingo, who has been at odds with his sister, Dinah, over the future of the family-owned property, watched with a grim face. He and Dinah each inherited 25 percent of the corner property when their father died several years ago. When their mother died last year, Dinah inherited her mother's fifty percent share of the property.
Since the two couldn't agree how to mutually manage the property, they petitioned the court to order a sale to liquidate, with proceeds to be split according to their interests: 25 percent to Archie and 75 percent to Dinah.
Sitting on the porch of the Adriatico Restaurant prior to the auction, Archie said he had mixed feelings about the sale. "I'd like to say more but I better not."
Jessica Lingo said she was glad that the family retained ownership. "We're glad that this Lingo family tradition will continue."
See more coverage and details in the Tuesday, May 4 edition of the Cape Gazette.
