Weddings are still being booked at Oheka Castle, lawyer for owner Gary Melius says after bankruptcy hearing

The lawyer for Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius told a bankruptcy court Thursday that the catering arm at the site, known as Oheka Catering, is not in bankruptcy proceedings, and that’s why weddings and events are able to continue at the landmark venue.

"Events are going forward, weddings are booked and they are continuing to book weddings,” Joseph S. Maniscalco, Melius' Wantagh-based attorney, told Newsday after the conference hearing. It was the first such hearing regarding procedures now that the property, listed in the filing as Kahn Property Owner LLC, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to hold off a foreclosure.

Melius also was in the federal courtroom in Central Islip for the hearing, held before Judge Louis A. Scarcella. Melius did not speak and declined to comment afterward. 

Maniscalco and representatives for 135 W. Gate Drive LLC, the largest secured creditor; for the receiver for Oheka; and for the Office of the U.S. Trustee, which is overseeing the bankruptcy proceeding, all addressed Scarcella to update him on the bankruptcy, which was filed July 31.

"The judge wants to know what the case is about, generally where we're going, what we're doing, where we came from," Maniscalco told Newsday.

During the hearing, all sides agreed that bills at Oheka, on West Gate Drive in Huntington, are up to date and the popular wedding venue, restaurant and hotel are operating normally.

Maniscalco told the court that while Kahn Property Owner LLC owns the real estate on which Oheka sits, Oheka Catering is a separate entity that is under the auspices of a receiver.

In 2019, Oheka was placed into a receivership by a Suffolk judge to oversee the property's operations while in foreclosure, Newsday previously reported.

Maniscalco told Newsday that structuring the bankruptcy so the catering side was left out of the filing was a strategic move.

“We didn’t want to disrupt any events, any of the weddings; we understand the sensitivities to that; those are special events, special dates and times,” he said. “We had a receiver in place, he’s doing his job, doing a great job, he’s paying the bills, so we filed the fee entity into bankruptcy, just the real estate entity.”

The property owes $63.5 million to creditors. The filing says the property has zero cash on hand, with $57.27 in a checking account. The property has $92.8 million in assets, which includes the property, machinery, equipment and vehicles.

Court documents list Melius as the manager of Kahn Property Owner LLC.

135 W. Gate Drive LLC and Taconic Capital are owed more than $50 million, according to court documents.

Melius has previously said Oheka has been in foreclosure for 10 years and the bankruptcy filing was in an effort to save it.

A foreclosure auction had been set for Aug. 7, Melius and court documents said.

Melius said last week that all weddings are still on at the venue. Maniscalco said Thursday that no one should be worried about events there in the “near future.” 

All sides are scheduled to return to court in late September. A hearing may be scheduled before then to decide what to do with funds coming into the castle and whether the receiver should remain in place.