vegansaurus!
01/10/2012
Café Gratitude legal issues “resolved,” but no word on restaurant closures »
The Bay Citizen reported yesterday that the legal issues stemming from the lawsuits filed against the company late last year have been “resolved.” Unfortunately, according to the terms of the settlement, none of the parties can discuss those terms, so we don’t know what’s going on. The law! It’s so frustrating when it’s not working in your favor!
Even more frustratingly, all the Engelharts will say about the previously announced sales of every Northern California Café Gratitude location — including our beloved Gracias Madre and the commercial kitchen — is “some will close and some will stay open.” DANG IT, ENGELHARTS! Why do you torture us like this! Looks like we might still need Rachel’s bereavement plan. Or you could pack it in and join Sarah E. Brown’s raw vegan paradise settlement in Patagonia, Ariz. First we recommend eating at Gracias Madre as much as possible; a thriving restaurant is less likely to be closed, right? RIGHT?
[photo by Lokesh Dhakar via Flickr. Please don’t take this away from us!]
∞ posted at 17:57 by seriousmeaveness 
08/02/2010
» A quick Ike's Place update, and it's (what else) bad news
Bay Citizen reports the latest on Ike’s Place:
The city of San Francisco has taken steps to put popular sandwich shop Ike’s Place out of business at its Castro location.
The Planning Department said it is issuing a $250 fine per day because the eatery has failed to obtain a permit the city now contends the restaurant needs.
Rather than shut down and fire everyone, Ike intends to suck it up and pay the $250 per day (that’s $7500 per month—OUCH). Which is ridiculous, because, as we reported earlier, his landlord ordered him to halt construction on a ventilation hood that would have cured any permit issues. It’s not for lack of trying; the ventilation hood is there and ready to go. Why not let him finish the job? Because without the permits, the case for eviction is quick and easy. Nice catch-22 there.
So despite having an otherwise spotless record, the Planning Department is now joining the push to paperwork Ike’s Place out of existence. All for the crime of being too successful. No wonder “urban homesteading” is taking off in this city. Nowhere left to eat out? Just till some wheat in the backyard, and (eventually) you can have a sandwich of your own. This new Great Depression keeps getting better by the day.
∞ posted at 15:17 by stevesimitzis 
06/17/2010
Here’s the latest on the Ike’s Place eviction drama: the landlord is going nuclear, according to the Bay Citizen, and planning to evict Daimaru Sushi, the neighboring restaurant since 1998, as a means of forcing out Ike. As it turns out, Ike is subleasing space from Daimaru, and the landlord is claiming that any permit violation by Ike is a violation of Daimaru’s lease.
As we reported already, Ike was ordered by his landlord to halt construction on a ventilation hood that would have cured any permit issues. So, the permit complaint has only ever been a pretense for eviction.
I attempted to interview Jerry Chau, the owner of Daimaru Sushi, but I discovered that he lives in Washington state, having left San Francisco years ago, and only visits the restaurant once every few months. No phone calls or emails were returned. Given that he’s disengaged from the community, my guess is that Jerry Chau would rather wash his hands of the whole mess and will probably walk away.
As a legal strategy, the landlord seems to have found a good one: pursue legal action against everyone who enables Ike in any possible way, and drive them far away from 16th and Sanchez Streets. Scorch the earth, and salt what remains. We’ll find out soon if the courts agree.
∞ posted at 08:45 by stevesimitzis
