The downtown Melbourne country bar is still advertising itself as open, but court records reveal two creditor lawsuits, two bankruptcy cases and unresolved questions about its future.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – A missing sign outside The Creek started with a simple question on Facebook: Is the downtown Melbourne bar still open?

Destination Brevard posted a photograph Aug. 25 showing the red front of the building at 829 E. New Haven Ave. with bare mounting bars where the business sign had been. The post asked, “So is this place open, did someone or the city, take their sign? What’s up?”

The question generated more than 100 comments. Some people said the sign had been stolen. Others blamed the city, the building owner, a permit problem or an eviction. Several commenters said the bar was still operating. One said they had visited the previous Sunday.

Two days later, Hurricane Creek Saloon responded on its official Facebook page. “YES, WE ARE OPEN,” the business wrote in a post that said the internet was “full of misinformation.” It promoted an upcoming football game, food and drink specials and invited customers to visit The Creek.

The response answered whether the business was operating, but it did not explain why the sign was gone. It did not say the sign had been stolen or address the pending court cases.

The screenshots reviewed for this story do not establish who removed the sign or why. Although commenters referred to a purported post saying it had been stolen, no such post appears in the materials reviewed. No police report, city order or permit record documenting its removal was included in the records provided. Claims about the sign being stolen, repossessed or removed by the city remain unverified.

The court record does, however, explain why the photograph produced so much speculation.

The Creek, legally operated by Hurricane Creek LLC, is defending two separate lawsuits that could affect its ability to remain at the downtown property and continue using its liquor license. Its owner, Randy Jay Bennett, is also in a personal Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

One lawsuit seeks possession of the building. The other seeks foreclosure and sale of the bar’s quota alcohol license. Neither case has produced a final eviction or foreclosure judgment in the records reviewed for this story.

The short answer is that The Creek says it remains open, but its future is under significant legal and financial pressure.

Is The Creek still open?

The business’s Facebook response is the clearest answer to the question that started the discussion. The Creek said it was open and described the page as its only official Facebook presence.

The business also continued to advertise food, drinks, entertainment and line-dancing lessons through its official website as of Aug. 29. It remained listed as The Creek Saloon at 829 E. New Haven Ave. in the Downtown Melbourne directory and in a restaurant listing showing current operating hours.

Florida licensing records contain a March 21, 2026, approval entry for Hurricane Creek’s 4COP alcohol license at the same address.

The Facebook statement and those listings do not guarantee that the bar will remain open, but they show it had not simply announced a shutdown when the sign disappeared. The unresolved issue is what happens next in court.

The landlord is pursuing eviction

Radencic’s Rentals LLC filed an eviction lawsuit against Hurricane Creek LLC and Bennett on Dec. 9, 2025.

The landlord alleges the bar had been in default since at least December 2023 and owed $37,138.19 after rent, real estate taxes, late charges and payments made during 2025 were calculated. A notice delivered Nov. 13 demanded payment or possession by Nov. 28.

The complaint also included an affidavit Bennett signed July 28, 2025, acknowledging that he owed Michael Rigel $40,087.99 as of July 25. Rigel is the authorized member of Radencic’s Rentals, according to Florida corporate records.

Hurricane Creek and Bennett dispute the landlord’s claims.

They said rent for August through November 2025 had been deposited into a Truist Bank account the parties used for rent payments. They said the December payment was attempted on Dec. 5, but the landlord had closed the account.

They also challenged whether Radencic’s Rentals had shown that it acquired the right to enforce the original lease. The lease identified W. Jon Radencic and Robert B. Radencic, as trustees of the Geraldine G. Radencic Trust, as the lessor. The defendants argued that the complaint did not include a deed transferring the property to Radencic’s Rentals or an assignment of the lease.

Radencic’s Rentals replied that it had instructed the defendants to stop using the Truist account and make payments directly to the company. It said the account was closed after Hurricane Creek continued making partial deposits. The landlord also argued that the lease treats taxes, late fees and other charges as additional rent.

A hearing to determine the amount of rent was scheduled for Feb. 4. Two days before the hearing, Bennett filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. That filing created an automatic stay, a legal pause that temporarily stopped creditors from taking certain collection and property actions.

The state hearing was canceled.

The bankruptcy case did not decide whether Hurricane Creek owes the rent or whether the landlord is entitled to possession. It temporarily prevented the state case from moving forward.

On Aug. 21, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lori V. Vaughan lifted the stay as to Radencic’s Rentals and the property at 829 E. New Haven Ave. The order allows the landlord to return to state court and pursue possession.

The bankruptcy order is not an eviction order. It does not decide the disputed rent, direct the sheriff to remove the business or award the landlord a personal judgment against Bennett. Those issues remain for the Brevard County court.

That distinction is important because several Facebook comments said the business had already been evicted. The records reviewed show an eviction case and a landlord newly authorized to proceed, but no completed eviction.

A separate lawsuit targets the liquor license

The day before the eviction was filed, Timothy M. Sowder, as trustee of the TMS Revocable Living Trust, sued Hurricane Creek and Bennett over the bar’s alcohol license.

An account using the name Tim Sowder later commented on the Destination Brevard post that the business was being evicted and that its liquor license was in foreclosure. The identity of the account was not independently verified, but the court record confirms that a trust represented by Timothy M. Sowder has filed a license-foreclosure lawsuit.

The lawsuit concerns Hurricane Creek’s 4COP quota license, BEV15-00434. State licensing materials describe that license type as allowing beer, wine and liquor sales for consumption on the premises, along with sealed-container sales. Because Florida limits the number of quota licenses in each county, the license can be a valuable business asset.

According to loan documents attached to the complaint, Hurricane Creek borrowed $300,000 from Sowder in March 2021 and pledged the license as collateral. Bennett and Jerry J. Morian signed personal guaranties.

The parties modified the loan in August 2022. The trust advanced another $120,000, consolidating the principal at $420,000. The agreement required monthly interest-only payments of $4,000.50 and set a balloon maturity date of Sept. 1, 2027.

The trust alleges Hurricane Creek missed the payment due Oct. 1, 2025, and every payment after it. Its complaint claims $436,407.28 was due as of Dec. 8, including principal, interest and late fees, with additional interest accruing at $207.12 a day.

The trust is asking the court to declare its lien superior to other interests and order the license sold if the debt is not paid within a court-set period. It also seeks damages against Bennett under his personal guaranty.

Those are allegations, not a judgment. The supplied record does not show that the court has ordered the license sold or transferred it to another owner.

The Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, which was named because it administers alcohol licenses and transfers, said it lacked knowledge of the private loan allegations. The agency asked that any eventual transfer comply with Florida licensing law.

The eviction and license cases present different risks. The eviction case concerns the right to occupy 829 E. New Haven Ave. The foreclosure case concerns ownership of the alcohol license Hurricane Creek uses there.

Why bankruptcy keeps appearing

There are two separate bankruptcy cases in The Creek’s recent history.

Hurricane Creek LLC filed a small-business Chapter 11 case in June 2024. Chapter 11 generally gives a business an opportunity to reorganize its debts while continuing operations. Filing a case does not erase debts or guarantee that a reorganization will succeed.

Hurricane Creek’s case was dismissed in July 2025 and later closed. That ended the company’s bankruptcy protection without resolving the later eviction and license lawsuits, both of which were filed in December.

Bennett filed his own Chapter 13 case on Feb. 2, 2026. Chapter 13 is for individuals and generally allows a debtor to propose a repayment plan while an automatic stay pauses many creditor actions.

The personal case initially was dismissed in March because required documents, including a repayment plan and financial schedules, had not been filed. The same case later continued, and the bankruptcy court considered requests from creditors seeking permission to resume state proceedings.

The Aug. 21 order gives only Radencic’s Rentals relief concerning the downtown property. It does not resolve every claim against Hurricane Creek or Bennett, and it does not automatically authorize action in every separate case.

Court records also show broader creditor pressure involving Bennett’s other restaurant and bar ventures.

Sysco Southeast Florida obtained a $26,489.82 default judgment against Bennett in June 2024 over a personal guaranty connected to Bennigan’s West Melbourne LLC. A judge denied Bennett’s January 2026 attempt to vacate that judgment.

In another pending lawsuit, the Sowder trust alleges Bennett guaranteed a separate $450,000 loan to Cadence and Company Designs LLC, doing business as Aqua Lounge. That case concerns a different company and a different alcohol license, not The Creek’s license. The state court stayed proceedings against Bennett in that case after his Chapter 13 filing.

From Hurricane Creek to Neon Rodeo to The Creek

The bar opened as Hurricane Creek Saloon in 2017 inside the former P.C. Keat’s restaurant.

Hurricane Creek LLC was organized in March of that year. Its May 2017 lease set the first full monthly rent at $6,905 plus sales tax and offered a series of one-year renewal options. If all conditions were met, those options could have extended the tenancy through May 2027.

Financial problems appeared within months. An October 2017 lease addendum said the tenant had accumulated $32,508.76 in rent, late fees and sales tax from July through October. The parties adopted a repayment plan instead of ending the lease.

The venue nevertheless developed a following for country music, free line-dancing lessons, food, billiards, frozen drinks and large downtown events. Bennett also organized annual New Year’s Eve country concerts.

In April 2025, while Hurricane Creek’s Chapter 11 case was pending, the reality television series Bar Rescue remodeled the business and renamed it Neon Rodeo. The public reveal reportedly attracted about 3,000 people.

The Neon Rodeo name lasted only a few weeks. Bennett changed it to The Creek in May 2025, saying the new name was connected to his late father, who used to ask whether he was going down to “the crick.” The television episode aired in March 2026.

That history helps explain why the missing sign attracted attention. The building has carried three public identities in less than two years, while the underlying company and liquor license have continued using the Hurricane Creek name.

For now, the facts supported by the available records are narrower than many of the Facebook comments. The sign is missing. The business still advertises itself as open. Its landlord may resume pursuing possession, and a lender is asking a court to sell its liquor license. Neither lawsuit has reached a final judgment in the records reviewed.