Arvest Forecloses on Downtown LR Building Owned by Matt Lile

527 Center St., Little Rock

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Little Rock businessman John Mathis “Matt” Lile III.

The bank’s foreclosure is on two loans totaling more than $821,500 secured by the 20,332-SF building at the northeast corner of Center and Sixth streets. The property is the home of EJ’s restaurant in downtown Little Rock.

The original October 2005 loan totaled $815,500. A second loan of $156,120 was taken out in January 2009.

Lile is the former owner of Lulav restaurant, and he’s scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in January on two counts of embezzlement dating from his days as president of defunct Cosmopolitan Life Insurance Co.