Jose Garces has sweetened the pot to help cinch a sale of his restaurants in bankruptcy court, offering to pay $500,000 to M&T Bank to satisfy personal liens against him, Philly.com reported. Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny Jr. in Camden on Thursday heard details of a proposed sale agreement — totaling about $8.34 million — for Garces’ restaurants, management agreements, and catering division. The proposed buyer — Ballard Brands, a Louisiana food company that has been Garces’ longtime suitor — also announced that it had increased its cash offer by $1.5 million, to $3.5 million, the court heard. Garces’ own $500,000 and Ballard’s additional $1.5 million would boost the total price tag by $2 million from Ballard’s initial bankruptcy-court offer of about $6.34 million. The sale could be confirmed at a hearing July 9. Garces is expected to become a Ballard employee.
