Garry McGuire, the interim president of embattled Copia, quietly resigned his position Dec. 5 at 5 p.m.

Attorney John MacConaghy, who is representing Copia in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, confirmed McGuire’s resignation on Friday.

MacConaghy said McGuire handed his resignation in last week to Joe Peatman, the chairman of the Copia board, as the center for wine, food and the arts sank into ever-deeper financial quicksand.

On that day, Copia failed to get approval from creditors for a $2 million credit line that would allow it to continue operations during bankruptcy proceedings.

Without access to the credit line, Copia’s hopes to restructure and become financially viable while in bankruptcy effectively died. Copia Chief Financial Officer Joe Fischer said earlier this week that Copia is heading toward a quiet financial wind-down and a liquidation of its assets.

Internal e-mails sent from Copia leaders to employees earlier this week suggest that Copia will keep one or two staffers on hand through January to take care of affairs.

Meanwhile, Copia leaders remain in negotiations with insurer ACA Guaranty over access to funds to pay employees, pay all employee benefits through the duration of staffers’ employment and meet other obligations.

Asked if McGuire had cited any reason for his departure, MacConaghy said, “I think he was disappointed at the turn of events.” MacConaghy was referring to the failed effort to quickly secure the $2 million.

Peatman did not return a call for comment Friday afternoon.

Dark days

Copia opened in 2001 in hopes of attracting crowds to a center that would offer wine tastings, classes in culinary skills, concerts, arts events and more. It is home to Julia’s Kitchen, a fine-dining establishment inspired by Julia Child, as well as a bottle shop, extensive “edible gardens,” a riverfront outdoor amphitheater, inside theater and demonstration kitchen.

The center was built largely on money donated by the late vintner Robert Mondavi and other vintners seeking to bolster Napa’s reputation as a great wine-and-food destination.

Ambitious plans never offered financial returns, however, and the center lost money from the start. Efforts to recast its mission in various ways never gained traction.

Even as recent months have seen promising developments in the Oxbow District around Copia, including the opening of a Westin-Veraa resort, tasting rooms, restaurants and the Oxbow Public Market, the center was sinking. Copia leaders have said the global credit crunch and economic downturn hastened Copia’s demise.

McGuire joined the board of directors at Copia a few years ago, and replaced then-Copia President Arthur Jacobus in March.

McGuire announced new directions for the center, with hoped-for plans ranging from creating and marketing culinary content for Web and television to opening a Copia center in San Francisco, where the organization could reach a larger audience.

McGuire’s background includes marketing experience at Compaq Computers and work as a consultant or executive with companies targeting luxury travelers, including a company called Posh Planet Corp.

Exuding confidence that Copia could be made sustainable and even profitable after years of trouble, McGuire spoke freely about his plans for Copia, including an expansion to a San Francisco campus, a focus on Web-based operations and the creation of “the world’s largest tasting room.”

McGuire’s plans came to naught as Copia ran out of money and faced pressure from lenders who saw that Copia could not meet its financial obligations, especially in a tightening credit market.

MacConaghy said McGuire’s abrupt departure leaves Fischer and Peatman alone to untangle the financial knot, and their priority is to pay the employees wages still due to them. “Everybody left is working hard to pay the remaining (money) owed to employees and to repay consumer deposits,” he said.

Register Business Reporter Jennifer Huffman contributed to this report.