The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, launched in Nov. 2001 and supported by such notables as famed chef Julia Child and vintner Robert Mondavi, closed its doors in Nov. 2008 – and Great American Group, LLC (OTCBB: GAMR), a leading provider of asset disposition, valuation and appraisal services, has been selected to manage the live webcast auction of all items housed inside the center.
According to Mark Weitz, President of Great American Group’s Industrial Division, the two-day live sale event will be conducted on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, beginning at 10 a.m. each day, represents “one of the most eclectic collections of items we’ve handled in some time.”
“This should be a really fun and unique auction that I would expect to generate much buzz and excitement from local enthusiasts to collectors from all around,” Weitz continued.
“Some of the items, including copper pots and pans belonging to Julia Child, were sent to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to use in a kitchen exhibit dedicated to the chef,” Weitz said. “But there are plenty of special, one-of-a-kind items to auction, including spectacular interactive museum exhibits, works from the COPIA art gallery, antiques, vintage food and wine memorabilia, a Tiffany stem and flatware collection, and almost 4,000 bottles of wine.”
The first day of the auction, Friday, April 20, will include all of the restaurant fixtures and equipment, commercial assets, audio/video equipment, office furnishings and IT equipment. The second day of the two-day event, Saturday, April 21, will feature the gallery artwork, wine collection, antiquities, and china.
Potential bidders may inspect items from the auction at the COPIA facility which is located at 500 First Street, Napa, CA from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PDT), Thursday, April 19. You may attend the auction event in person at the COPIA Center or may participate by logging into www.greatamerican.com to follow the sale over the web with live bidding in real time sound and streamed video. There will be close to 2,000 items up for bid in the course of the two day auction and anticipate two full days of selling.
A week prior to the webcast auction, on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15, COPIA’s retail store will be opened to the public, offering discounts of 50 percent on all store inventory.
COPIA was originally opened as a nonprofit discovery center where visitors could explore, celebrate, and share the pleasures and benefits of wine, its relationship to food, and its significance to culture. COPIA offered wine and food tasting programs, exhibitions, organic edible gardens, films, concerts, fine and casual dining, and shopping. Famed chef Julia Child lent her support to the venture that featured a restaurant named Julia’s Kitchen.
For more information about the auction, contact Great American Group at 818-884-3737 or visit the company’s website at http://www.greatamerican.com/auctions/AuctionEventDetails.aspx?EventID=639.
