To keep Chuck’s open until May, owner files a temporary restraining order against landlord
Colin Davy | Asst. Photo Editor
Posters outside of the former location of Appethaizing indicates it has been blocked off for asbestos removal.
The owner of the popular student bar Hungry Chuck’s has filed a temporary restraining order against its new landlord as part of an effort to ensure the bar remains open the rest of the semester.
Steve Theobald, owner of Chuck’s, earlier this month filed a temporary restraining order against Syracuse 727 LLC, the developers planning to demolish the structure at 727 S. Crouse Ave. — where Chuck’s is located — and construct a mixed-use building. The restraining order is currently preventing the developers from conducting an asbestos abatement inside Chuck’s, something that would at least temporarily require the bar to close.
Both parties will appear in Onondaga County Supreme Court on Tuesday morning to present oral arguments at a hearing to determine when the asbestos abatements should take place, Theobald said.
RELATED: Project that would demolish Chuck’s moves forward as city agency approves tax breaks
If the abatements are to take place, Chuck’s will close during the entire abatement process. The abatements could cause significant damage to the interior of Chuck’s that would prevent the bar from reopening this semester, Theobald said.
Syracuse 727 LLC, which is principally owned by BLVD Equities, requested in late February to do an asbestos abatement for the property and planned to move forward with it on March 10. But Theobald refused to comply with the abatement due to the concerns over when the bar might reopen, and the potential damage it could cause the Chuck’s brand during what Theobald said is the bar’s busiest time of the year. He filed the restraining order days before the scheduled abatement, temporarily putting it on hold.
Ally Moreo | Photo Editor
The central argument of the case rests upon a section in Chuck’s lease that states that its property owner has the right to “make repairs, additions, or alterations” within the bar’s premises. Chuck’s is arguing that an asbestos abatement goes beyond repairs and is instead a remedial measure.
Theobald felt his business was at risk after receiving an email from Jay Levinton, an attorney representing Syracuse 727 LLC, that said, “Removing asbestos is quite clearly a repair and/or an alteration. Therefor (sic), it is our intention to access your client’s space on March 3rd for our inspection and on March 10th for the abatement with or without your client’s cooperation.”
Theobald filed for the temporary restraining order to stop them from entering his property during that proposed time frame.
“It made me feel very afraid for my business, for my livelihood and again, most importantly for the brand,” Theobald said. “It made us afraid that they would shut us down, and I would have groups of students crying and yelling and shouting that Chuck’s isn’t here for us.”
He said that the developers have used intense language, threats and shouting to try and convince Theobald to agree to the abatement.
He added that he doesn’t know how long the abatement would close Chuck’s for, and that if the process closed the bar until after its annual end-of-the-year graduation party, it could lose money and “irrevocably damage” the bar’s brand.
Jared Hutter, part owner of 727 LLC and partner on the proposed mixed-use project, denied the claims regarding his team.
He said that throughout negotiations, Theobald’s team has been unfair, routinely breaking promises and “taking more than giving.”
“They are jeopardizing their ability to come back,” Hutter said, referencing the plan to have Chuck’s move back into its current space after construction. “Who sues their landlord to stop them from abating asbestos, which is what we were trying to do. We are trying to make this place safer — who sues their landlord and tries to come back?”
He said that his team wants to have a home for Chuck’s for the next 10 years and he has done “everything in his power” to make that happen. As a landlord, he said he is looking forward to the next generation of Chuck’s and thinks that Theobald has a “great vision” for the space. In a late February interview Hutter said the only “for sure tenant” in the proposed mixed-use building was Chuck’s.
In Theobald’s affidavit submitted to the Onondaga Supreme Court, he states he has not received vital information regarding the abatement. That information includes how the bar’s air will be tested for safe reentry; how the open liquor bottles and other kitchen items will be protected during the abatement; how the interior might be affected; and whether the bar could reopen once the abatements have completed.
Chuck’s is the only tenant that has not evacuated the premises at 727 S. Crouse Ave. in advance of the construction project.
Published on March 23, 2017 at 12:17 am
Contact Jacob: jagedets@syr.edu
