On Wednesday, July 2 at 11:00am the assets of OXO–all the restaurant equipment, including tools, furniture, and furnishings–will be sold off “in a single lot” at a public action to be held at the restaurant on Water Street. According to co-owner Alice Kim, who ran the restaurant with her partner John Haywood for nearly a decade, she and Haywood had finally grown tired of running the restaurant, and with carrying some outstanding debt. The auction, she says, is all part of a pretty complicated sale agreement to get out of the business.

“The auction is knowingly a part of a creative selling of the restaurant,” she says, declining to get into anymore detail until after the auction is over. “It’s a harsh but necessary part of the agreement we made. In hindsight, we should have taken the time to gather better information about our options, which would have allowed for a prettier ending, one we hope doesn’t take away from the great memories and times that OXO provided.”

And who knows, maybe the OXO name will live on. Word on the street is that a certain local collector of restaurants is interested in buying OXO, adding yet another jewel to his Downtown restaurants crown.

However it turns out, Kim and Haywood appear to be taking it in stride, and with a dash of humor.

“We had a magical, intimate funeral and memorial service for OXO Restaurant this past weekend,” says Kim, ” complete with a casket, burial and eulogy.”

So, if you’re interested in buying a restaurant show up at OXO around 9:00am on July 2 to preview the goods, or call lawyer Donald Long for more information: 434-979-1400. Oh, and make sure you bring a big wad of cash, as the high bidder will have to put down 10 percent of the sales price on the spot.