Most Small Vendors at Country Crossings 2018 Left Unpaid & The Organization is Unresponsive
The good times at Country Crossings this summer, with great country artists, family, friends, beer, wine, food and good times just became tainted by financial chaos. Many small vendors have reported that they signed contracts requiring Country Crossings to provide the Point of Sale and credit card processing systems and pay the vendors a month after the event. Several months later, this has not happened. Most vendors fronted food and drink, paid their employees, and paid extensively detailed fees to sell their wares to the concert goers, but the system provided “even kept the tips.” Country Crossings has been unresponsive to the vendors inquiries. Further North, in Linn County, the Department of Justice is looking into the Country Crossings Organization. One vendor from a small Tex-Mex food business posted details of to their pubic Facebook page:
“As contracted 20% of our GROSS sales went to the companies, plus with 3% credit card transactions. Plus, In order for Cowgirl Cook’n to participate in these events I had to pay upfront thousands of dollars in VendorFees, thousands of dollars in food, thousands in staff and thousands in other random expenses (like fuel, housing, insurance etc). It’s a lot of money and totally cleaned out my savings, but totally worth it as we made huge steps for Cowgirl Cook’n…. and it was a great investment….Or so I thought.”
Read the 2018 Country Crossings Vendor Contract not being honored.
Now that Winter is setting in, the vendors are still out their cut of their sales:
“It is now almost December and we have STILL not been refunded ANY of our tills.
The 80% that is ours, has been taken by these billion dollar companies. And it’s not just Cowgirl Cook’n money.. but EVERY… SINGLE… VENDOR who used their POS systems.”
Read the direct story from a business on Facebook here.
The promoter noted in the contract is called “BootsNBeach, LLC” (OR-SOS Record) which has a principal place of business in Eugene, Oregon at 780 Bailey Hill Rd Ste 1. Near Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. Here is the Google Map to BootsNBeach, LLC. No human names were associated with BootsNBeach, is owned by another business called “WCMC, LLC” (OR-SOS Record) at the same Eugene address. Both businesses filed with the Oregon Secretary of State through the same Registered Agent in Salem, Oregon, the business responsible for accepting legal communications regarding business registrations.
The confusion continues with the Oregon SOS showing that WCMC is managed by three people: Ann Hankins, with the same Eugene, Oregon address and two more from Beverly Hills, California. Their names are Jason Lubin and Patrick Whitesell with addresses listed on Wilshire Boulevard, a high rent business high-rise area of Beverly Hills, and likely an attorney. They operate under a company called “Willamette Country Music Concerts, Inc.” as well.
As of the time of this article, the Country Crossings website was down. BiMart, the Musicians, nor the Expo created this problem, but it might be helpful if they got involved in helping the vendors find a path to reimbursement for their costs at minimum. Hopefully this article provides some information for vendors on where to pursue being made whole. I and others in Scanner Group care about local businesses. They paid their people and vendors, their stock and they paid Country Crossings. So it is time for WHOEVER this business calls itself to PONY UP and the vendors to LAWYER UP.
11/29/18 Update: Reports from the news now say that the endeavor was sold to NYC based IMG Management and one vendor was offered 10% of receipts rather than 77% and told that Ann Hankins in Eugene was fired. The information has not changed with the Secretary of State in Oregon, leaving only the original corporate managers as contacts.
Ryan Mallory
Scanner Group
Actio Enim Amor Patriae
