Members of the Saranac Lake High School Class of 1969 celebrate their 40-year reunion at the Belvedere bar in 2009. Franklin County has notified the owners of “the Bel,” as it’s known, that the county will take the property by foreclosure if they don’t start paying nearly $83,700 in back taxes. (Enterprise photo — Catherine Moore)

Foreclosure proceedings are underway on two well-known local restaurants.

In a legal notice published in this newspaper on April 12, the Belvedere Restaurant at 102 Bloomingdale Ave., Saranac Lake, and the Main Street Restaurant at 79 Main St., Tupper Lake, are named among dozens of properties in a petition of foreclosure that Franklin County Treasurer Bryon Varin filed March 7.

Gerard Cavallo and his sister-in-law Lillian Cavallo are the current owners of the 102 Belvedere property. Shaun LaBarge owns the Main Street Restaurant property.

The last date to redeem the properties from foreclosure is June 26. The owners have until then to either pay the amount in full or to sign a contract to pay in installments. If they do not take steps to resolve the debt, the county will submit a request for judicial intervention. A judge will then decide whether to grant the property titles to the county for auction.

Any decision by a judge in a foreclosure case is subject to the court’s docket. The county treasurer’s staff says the typical turnaround time of late has been six months. County officials expect to bring any foreclosed properties to auction by next spring.

According to the treasurer, the Cavallos owe $83,694.35 for unpaid taxes from 2011 to 2015 and 2017. LaBarge is in arrears for $22,920.87 for the tax years from 2011 to 2015.

Neither Gerard nor Lillian Cavallo could be reached to comment on this story, but LaBarge said he plans to pay the taxes and keep the restaurant.

“It’s all been taken care of,” LaBarge said. “June 26 is the deadline, and I’ve already made an appointment in Malone to bring it up to date.”

LaBarge has owned the Main Street Restaurant for more than 13 years, returning to Tupper Lake for the investment opportunity after spending time out West.

“I’m telling you, 14 years ago, the mountain (Big Tupper Ski Area) was bought, and I was like, wow, what a great time to open a business,” he said, referring to the beleaguered Adirondack Club and Resort development.

But with the ACR bogged down, and with winter traffic lighter in the past few years, LaBarge admits to difficulties.

“It’s a tough business,” he said.

Varin acknowledged the difficulties for property owners facing foreclosure. He said the county has tried to alleviate it by offering installment and partial payment plans. In his more than 24 years at the treasury, he said thousands have taken advantage of these programs.

The Belvedere building dates to the 1890s, and the Cavallo family opened the vintage Italian eatery, commonly known as the “Bel,” in 1933. It’s distinguished by neon lights, grandfathered in from before zoning restricted them. Those neon tubes were considered the probable cause of a small electrical fire March 28 in the wall around the bar entrance.

The Belvedere has been for sale for years and currently has a list price of $495,000. The restaurant and bar are on the building’s main floor, and there are three apartments upstairs.