Update: Keane said his restaurants (Cyrus, Healdsburg Bar & Grill and the forthcoming Shimo will no longer serve or open wines from the Foley portfolio. “They aren’t going to be served or opened in our restaurants anymore,” he told BiteClub. So, uh, you might want to check out the Foley portfolio before heading to Healdsburg.
+++++++
Just six weeks after the sale of the Les Mars Hotel, tenant Cyrus Restaurant has received what amounts to an eviction notice from their new landlords.
Inside Scoop broke the story yesterday, and according to Cyrus Chef Douglas Keane, the restaurant received a legal notice of “election to declare forfeiture” from new co-landlords Bill Foley and David Fink last Friday. The notice claimed the restaurant had failed to pay its $13,000 November rent. But Keane claims he’s the one who raised the question to the new owners on October 28 of where his rent check should go three days before it was due.
“There was no official notice that the hotel was sold to the new owners. We’d heard casual stuff and it was in the press, but we never heard anything from our old landlord or new landlord,” Keane said. Having not heard from the new owners where to sign over the check, Keane put the rent into a trust account until the issue was resolved.
What’s behind all this? Keane claims there’s been some bad blood between himself and restaurateur David Fink, opining that the luxe resort manager may be eyeing the restaurant for himself. “My suspicions were that they were trying to mess with us,” said Keane. “I just want to be left alone.”
Keane and partner Nick Peyton have put nearly $2 million of their own money into the restaurant since opening in 2006. The restaurant signed a 15-year lease with the original owners of the hotel which Keane said cannot be broken by the new owners — unless they fail to pay rent. In which case they can be booted.
Hopefully, said Keane, the saga will end with his hand-delivering a check to the new landlords’ general manager today.
