Two More Taxpayer Funded EXPERIMAC Franchises Closed
Three Experimac franchise stores have closed in the past month, two of which were taxpayer-financed through SBA guaranteed loans. The Amherst, NY Experimac had only been open for about 9 months. Also closed was a high-profile Experimac in the Chicago Loop and the North Pittsburgh Experimac in Mars, PA.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) Three franchise stores that were listed as open on the Experimac website 4/1/19 have been deleted from the location list and are now reported as closed by Yelp! reviewers.
The stores that have closed in just the last month are:
- West Loop Experimac, 1127 W Madison Street Chicago, IL 60607 Opened: December, 2016 (28 months) Franchisees: Kevin Wright & Colette Gabriel
- Amherst, NY Experimac, 3220 Sheridan Dr Suite 200, Amherst, NY 14226 Opened: July, 2018 (9 months) Franchisee: Joseph Fiorentino
- North Pittsburgh Experimac, 900 Adams Shoppes, Mars, PA 16046 Opened: 2015 Franchisee: David Mehalick
Also read: Is the EXPERIMAC Franchise Chain Built on a Lie? Chicago Experimac Closing Raises Questions.
Our index of Experimac posts: EXPERIMAC Franchise Report (The Index)
SBA-Funded Experimac Amherst, NY Closed in Just 9 Months
July 17, 2018 the Amherst, NY Chamber of Commerce announced the Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening of the local Experimac:
Experimac Store Comes To Amherst
AMHERST, NY –Amherst Chamber of Commerce President/CEO A.J. Baynes announces the Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening of Experimac, a locally-owned franchise that repairs, upgrades, buys and sells Apple products.
The store at 3220 Sheridan Drive is owned by Joseph Fiorentino of Batavia.
The Canandaigua native spent 25 years in sales at Ryder before deciding he had enough of corporate America and wanted to do something on his own.
According to SBA records, Franchisee Joseph Fiorentino (Amicus Technology, Inc.) funded his Experimac franchise through an SBA guaranteed loan issued by United Midwest Savings Bank of DeGraff, Ohio.
- Program: 7A
- Borrower: Amicus Technology Inc 3220 Sheridan Drive Suite 200 Amherst, NY
- Bank: United Midwest Savings Bank, National Association, De Graff, OH
- Gross Amount: $150,000
- SBA Guarantee: $127,500
- Approval: 12/7/19
- First Disbursement: 12/31/17
- Status: EXEMPT
The Amherst, NY Experimac location appears to have closed some time in April, 2019, just 9 months into its 35-year franchise agreement.
SBA-Funded West Loop, Chicago Experimac Closed April 31, 2019
As we wrote in our recent post Is the EXPERIMAC Franchise Chain Built on a Lie? Chicago Experimac Closing Raises Questions., franchisees Kevin Wright & Colette Gabriel closed the West Loop Experimac at 1127 W Madison Street Chicago, IL at the end of last month.
According to SBA records, Wright & Gabriel funded their Experimac franchise, in part, with an SBA loan through Celtic Bank (likely with the assistance of Paul Bosley & First Financial)
- Program: 7A
- Borrower: KC CYGNET LIMITED LIABILITY CO 1127 W. Madison Street CHICAGO IL
- Bank: Celtic Bank Corporation 268 S State St, Ste 300 , SALT LAKE CITY UT
- Gross Amount: $150,000
- SBA Guarantee: $127,500
- Approval: 11/16/2016
- First Disbursement: 11/16/2016
- Status: EXEMPT
North Pittsburgh PA Experimac Closed… Possibly Twice
The North Pittsburgh Experimac, was opened at 4840 McKnight Road – Pittsburgh, PA some time in 2015 by franchisee David Mehalick. It’s reported closed.
There’s some discussion of it having been moving to 900 Adams Shoppes, Mars, PA near Cranberry, PA but it’s not clear if that ever happened. The Mars, PA location was listed on the Experimac website 4/1/19, but neither location is now listed on the Experimac website.
On 2/18/2019 Yelp! reviewer James stated:
I went to the store on McKnight Road, it was closed with a DLC (power bill) attached to the door. A sign said, “Visit us at our Mars shop store”, I did… There isn’t a mars shop store… I think these guys are out of business in the north hills area.
In 2016-2017, David Mehalick was listed as VP of Experimac Advertising Fund, Inc., a corporation headed by Ray Titus and headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL.
Read more about Experimac and United Franchise Group
See The UPDATED EXPERIMAC Franchise Closed Store List
Start here: EXPERIMAC Franchise Report (The Index)
UNITED FRANCHISE GROUP (UFG) Sells Franchise Dreams. Here’s How Many End.
EXPERIMAC a “Failing Franchise System” Franchisee Lawsuit Alleges
EXPERIMAC Income Plummeted 52% in 2018: Franchise Disclosure Document
EXPERIMAC Franchise Complaints
EXPERIMAC Franchise Complaints – Part 2
EXPERIMAC Franchise Stores For Sale
EXPERIMAC Franchise: Who Benefits from Failed Franchises?
EXPERIMAC, UFG Franchise Funding Trap: The Paul Bosley Interview
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH EXPERIMAC OR OTHER UNITED FRANCHISE GROUP FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES? SHARE YOUR OPINIONS BELOW OR EMAIL US IN CONFIDENCE.
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TAGS: Experimac, Experimac franchise, Ray Titus, Jim Muir, Paul Bosley, Business Finance Depot, Celtic Bank, SBA Franchise loans, Experimac franchise opportunity, Experimac franchise complaints, Franchise Funding, First Financial, United Franchise Group, United Franchise Group franchise, United Franchise Group UFG, Experimac West Loop, Experimac Chicago, David Mehalick, Joseph Fiorentino, Joe FiorentinoKevin Wright, Colette Gabriel, KC CYGNET LLC, SBA loan defaults, unhappy franchisee
