732 Social Closes

I think some of us are taking a rather myopic view of what really happened...

NuLu (actually, the East Market District) was a lackadaisical development area before Holland brought the Green Building in.

The Green Building became the belle of the ball because of Social.

The area was revived in large part, due to the press from these efforts (we actually have renamed the place- NuLu)

Therefore, the success of NuLu should be greatly attributed to Social.

No question- 732 Social was a HUGE part of the success of the NuLu district. It brought crowds people to the area who would never gone there, and created a vibe that encouraged people to hangout. It showed that you could be successful in that part of town and we all know that restaurants do better when there is a critical mass. It will be sorely missed- a huge loss for the area ( even with all the new places).

Jayson- we wish you the best in your next venture and can't wait to try it!

Deb

Jeff, your assumption here points at the restaurant owner as being the incompetent one. What if the incompetence fell on the landlord? What if the landlord negotiated and agreed to a lease, 'forgot to sign it' and put it in his files, and then went on to accept rent payments for months until he wanted to move the tenant out unjustly? OMG-I know I've been accepting rent for months but I never signed this so it shouldn't be valid!

There will certainly be a lot of speculation around this matter, and I am sure sides will be taken. I have read those 400 pages of court docs and depositions and will tell you this was not a situation of a seasoned chef/restaurateur, with a professional track record of excellence and 9 successful restaurants, not keeping a copy of the lease.

If you hear the train whistle blowing, there may be a railroad nearby.......

Doesn't matter if the ball was in the landlord's court or not. Failing to get a copy of the executed lease on file is a class-A blunder that, sadly, cries out for a situation like this to arise. That's something that should have been done before the build-out even started.

Jeff, your assumption here points at the restaurant owner as being the incompetent one. What if the incompetence fell on the landlord? What if the landlord negotiated and agreed to a lease, 'forgot to sign it' and put it in his files, and then went on to accept rent payments for months until he wanted to move the tenant out unjustly? OMG-I know I've been accepting rent for months but I never signed this so it shouldn't be valid!

Doesn't matter if the ball was in the landlord's court or not. Failing to get a copy of the executed lease on file is a class-A blunder that, sadly, cries out for a situation like this to arise. That's something that should have been done before the build-out even started.

Jeff,

Not all of us are perfect. If you've never run a restaurant, you have no idea how many details/ paperwork need to be followed up on. The lease in question was not for the original buildout. An easy ( but painful) oversight, especially as your landlord was accepting payments for months. Let's not be so quick to blame....

Deb

I am looking forward to Chef Lewellyn's next venture. I loved that place and I'm sure the next restaurant will be even better. The Green building was a cool building and all, but it was hot and cramped and left plenty of room for improvement. An interesting note on the heat...an article I read mentioned that air conditioner wasn't functioning properly and 732 had requested it ot be fixed. Isn't it a "green" building??? I had always assumed that was the best a soy powered air conditioner could do and there was no real fix without risking dropping sea level another inch, etc. Heh.

On the other issue, Jeff is correct. Pilots don't get to say "there are too many switches and dials up here" just like businees people don't get to say. "there was too much going on to get my stuff buttoned up" - not that he did, but some on here "defending" him seem to be implying that. There may well be a Class 1 A-hole or even a crook at play on the other side (or not), but it goes without saying that in business you better have your "t's" crossed or someone might take advantage- especially if they find themselves in a desperate situation. Desperation causes people to act out of character and money often causes desperation and business is all about money (those that that try to deny this find themselves in the most trouble)...I think you get my drift. .

Anyway, It's always a good idea to have to have a lawyer look over this stuff if for no other reason that to have someone else to be the "bad" guy for you if you don't want to get into it with your partners, landlords, etc. It's not clear to me what the facts are so I'm not passing judgement on anyone...hey, we've all paid our unfair share of stupid tax. Learn your lessons and march on!