Roxy's Pub may have slipped off the auction block for now, but the downtown West Palm Beach staple is still staring down serious legal and financial trouble.
The longtime Clematis Street watering hole was set for a sheriff's sale this week after a seven-figure judgment, but a last-minute development removed properties tied to the bar from the auction list. At the same time, a new lender foreclosure and a fresh push to reach the bar's liquor license keep the pressure firmly on the business.
TV station WPEC reported that the scheduled sheriff's auction was canceled after a late change, and said it was working to confirm whether a settlement was involved. The outlet reviewed court records showing the sale traced back to a 2020 bar-fight lawsuit that led to a jury verdict against Roxy's Pub. WPEC also notes that the separate foreclosure case filed by the lender remains active with no ruling yet from the court.
Earlier local coverage showed a sheriff's levy taped to the bar's front door. Radio site 1290 WJNO reported that the notice said the property was "in the custody of" the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and that an auction had been set for June 2 before being pulled. WJNO linked the levy to a verdict that left the bar facing roughly seven figures in damages after a patron was injured in 2020. Despite the levy notice, Roxy's has stayed open on Clematis Street while collection efforts play out in court.
Foreclosure suit targets Clematis Street parcels
A foreclosure action filed in mid-May names lender NBL SPV IV LLC as plaintiff and seeks to foreclose on property tied to the Roxy's redevelopment, according to court records cited by WPEC. The complaint says a loan issued in October 2022 was modified several times and matured in March 2026, and that more than $5.1 million in principal, interest and fees is now claimed as outstanding. Local docket roundups such as Boca Post list the foreclosure case filed May 14 and identify 309 and 313 Clematis Street as the properties at issue.
Liquor license is also on the line
Court filings show Rafael and Ashley Perez-Valdivia, the plaintiffs in the earlier injury case, filed a separate complaint this year to foreclose a State of Florida quota alcoholic-beverage license tied to Roxy's, according to a court-document preview on Trellis. The complaint names the state's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco as an indispensable party, consistent with how license foreclosures are supposed to proceed under Florida law.
State statute provides that foreclosure of a perfected lien in an alcoholic-beverage license must take place in circuit court, and that any sale proceeds are applied first to lienholders and then to other creditors. The law also requires the division to be joined in such actions, which is reflected in the Perez-Valdivia filing.
What could happen next
With the sheriff's auction off the calendar, the battle now centers on the active mortgage foreclosure and the liquor-license foreclosure claim. Lenders, judgment creditors and license claimants can pursue settlements, payment plans or judicial sales as they jockey over what is owed and who gets paid.
Industry coverage, including a South Florida commercial roundup at HawkinsCRE, notes that NBL SPV IV LLC is a lending special-purpose vehicle that has been active in commercial loan enforcement. For now, the foreclosure case remains pending and no final judgment has been entered, leaving Roxy's owners, creditors and lawyers to sort out how the debt will ultimately be resolved.
Roxy's is one of downtown West Palm Beach's oldest bars, a Clematis Street fixture with roots that stretch back to the end of Prohibition. That history helps explain the attention the case is drawing. As the legal fight moves through foreclosure proceedings and potential action on the liquor license, downtown regulars and city leaders will be watching closely to see whether the landmark changes hands or survives under new terms. Court dockets and filings suggest the outcome will unfold over the coming months.
