Trader Vics San Francisco, stimulus funds, and lawsuits

An interesting article in the San Francisco Gate newspaper, provides some tidbits above the closing of the Trader Vics on Golden Gate avenue. According to the article, Trader Vics continues to pay $216,000 a year to lease the space

I love the picture accompanying the article .... it shows a mai-tai, with the caption "Would you like this or a stimulus project?" I thought a mai-tai WAS a stimulus project!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=37497

• The owners of what used to be the legendary Trader Vic's tiki lounge have asked a judge to temporarily stop crews from demolishing an empty city-owned building near Civic Center Plaza, saying the mess forced them to close their doors.

The building at 525 Golden Gave Ave. is seismically unsafe. City leaders hope after razing it, they'll get federal stimulus money to help build an uber-green office for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Trader Vic's Management Corp. and the aptly named Mai Tai Investors LP, which leases the building at 555 Golden Gate Ave., are suing in San Francisco Superior Court, saying the demolition project forced them to close their restaurant in December 2007 in anticipation of work starting the next month.

Tony Winnicker, an SFPUC spokesman, called the lawsuit "an attempted shakedown."

"This is not about an impact on their building," Winnicker said. "This is about money."

The Mai Tai guys, who in 2003 signed an $18,000-a-month lease that runs through 2013, say the city promised in October 2007 to compensate them and hasn't.

City officials dispute that, saying the talks were about a roof-access fee and fell apart when the Mai Tai guys' demands were exorbitant.

The lawsuit contends the demolition has invaded the "air space" over the shuttered restaurant with scaffolding and at one point a crane. It also contends the project involves digging underneath Trader Vic's and that it has shut down part of the street, prohibiting access to the restaurant.

The city's attorneys reject that argument.

"It's not realistic from an economic standpoint to say there is a construction project next door, so I have to shut down my business," Deputy City Attorney Don Margolis said.

The Mai Tai guys are in court Thursday seeking a temporary halt to any demolition work that infringes on their property, which in practical terms means halting the whole project, said their attorney, Gerry Murphy.

They face an uphill battle. The judge's tentative ruling issued late Wednesday denies their request. *

Hmm, let's see: San Francisco, lawyers, Trader Vic's, finance, Mai Tai's?

Nope, I got nothing.

You're out of order!
midnite

On 2009-03-25 20:46, ikitnrev wrote:
saying the demolition project forced them to close their restaurant in December 2007 in anticipation of work starting the next month.

naw see they didn't get their alibis straighten out. see there wasn't such a thing as the economic stimulus back in december 2007, so how could they have been forced to close to raze a buidling down for the economic stimulus money!?! there's some serious space time continuum issues there.

The building at nearby 525 Golden Gate could have been deemed to be non-earthquake proof years ago, and plans could have been made to demolish the buildings back then too, and to build a new building at that site (even without any word on stimulus funds) Plans often get delayed for various reasons.

With the sudden availability of stimulus funds, the city is certainly right in looking into the possibility of using such funds to help defray new construction costs. If that means making the building design more green, then they are likely to do that.

The question is - was the decision to close the S.F. Trader Vics based on the teardown and construction of the nearby building, or because business was not good as anticipated at that site, or for any other reason. Did Trader Vics sell off or remove much of the decor inside with the intention of never returning, or did they just plan to temporarily 'mothball' the place, with the intention of opening it again after the nearby construction was completed.

Most restaurants try to stay open as long as possible, even if construction is happening nearby - the loss of incoming cash flow is just too great.

It really seems as of the past few years at least, that Trader Vic's as a Corporation has had its head up its own ass. They've made some really big mistakes, bad business decisions, and most likely dealt serious blows to themselves. Chicago, Beverly Hills, Vegas, Frisco... I could go on and on, but I'm sure most of the TCers following the TV threads already know and see the wishy-wash patterns. I'm glad one is opening up in Downtown L.A. soon, but to be frank about it, it just isn't going to "replace" Beverly Hills. It will be an "alternative" destination.

Funny, the property owner does not seem to be complaining about the City.
Also, I strongly suspect that there was no demolition occurring after 4, so from Happy Hour one, there would not have been any construction noise.

No one has a monopoly on light and air.