Regole's Harvest Shoppe declares bankruptcy

Owners of Regole's Harvest Shoppe, a longtime fixture on the St. Charles business scene, have filed for bankruptcy.

The president and director of the shop are seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means the assets of the business would be liquidated.

The 46-year-old feed, gardening and pet supply store has been closed since early November.

Its application to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, filed March 23, indicated it owed creditors more than $1.6 million.

It listed assets of $27,293 in accounts receivable, plus inventory and fixtures of undetermined value.

The largest debts owed are to the U.S. government, for about $800,000 in payroll taxes, and GMAC, for $575,445.

There are 44 unsecured, nonpriority creditors, including GMAC, many of them suppliers of goods and services.

The president of the store, Mary Miller; her husband, Jesse Miller; and Mark Regole of St. Charles are listed as unsecured priority creditors, owed a total of $36,128 in wages. The IRS is an unsecured, priority creditor also.

The business sits on land owned by the Edward N. Regole Living Revocable Trust. Regole is listed in the bankruptcy as a director and stockholder in the shop, and has filed a claim against the bankruptcy estate for $7,800. Mary Miller is his niece.

The Millers' and Mark Regole's home phone numbers are unlisted. A message requesting comment from their attorney was not returned.

A call to Edward Regole's home in Arizona was answered by his wife, who said the couple would have no comment.

Land developer Edward Regole is one of five children of the late Gertrude and Maurice Regole, who owned and farmed land near Kirk Road and Route 64 in St. Charles where several business parks, shopping centers and a Catholic Church now sit.

The store opened in 1963 to sell feed, but over the years added other products, including pet food, livestock fencing, sheds, garden supplies, gifts, live seasonal plants, Christmas trees and more.