— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
I do a lot of my shopping at Delano’s because it’s a block from my house. Because I know I’m only one of the 20 people who do, I’ll keep it brief. I talked to a staff member and they said they will be in business until “at least October,” which is when their lease expires. They said the landlord increased the rent by three times, so the owner is considering closing it because of the exorbitant increase. The reason the store is empty is because as negotiations with the landlord broke down, they debated closing it and didn’t restock. They claim that they reordered everything and the shelves will be stocked again by next week.
Bummer regardless. One of the Mission’s best restaurants, Chili Lemon and Garlic on 24th closed a few years back for the exact same reason: the landlord saw the gold of gentrification and raised rent to a point that CLG couldn’t afford to stay open. Then the soulless “China Fun Fast Food” moved into the spot and it’s virtually empty everyday.
Maybe the landlord is eyeing a Whole Foods or, you know, an American Apparel outlet store.
Comments (4)
The same landlord also tripled the rent at Alhambra Meat Market on 24th and Folsom. I guess they own a ton of places on 24th St.
I was sad to see Alhambra Meat Market close; on the other hand, it wasn’t as good as, say, Drewes Brothers. Still, it was way closer so I was content to shop there.
Serves the landlord right though; the place has been vacant for over a year now.
But as a businessman myself- I gotta wonder: they only opened in 2008. Did they only do a one year lease? I can’t believe they didn’t negotiate a better lease.
Yeah, it was a one year lease. I guess it’s their MO. They say that there’ll be an option for a longer lease. It’s now a restaurant called Local. Same landlords and same lease.
“Local” looks good, kind of the food polar-opposite to most of the 24th food so I’m happy to get more variety. But you’re saying that “Local” signed a one year lease as well? Are they nuts? They did a ton of tenant improvements; you’d be a fool to do that and only sign a one year lease.
Note to shopkeepers: negotiate a longer lease or at lease a right to renew with a limited rent increase. Otherwise you’re going to get screwed.