“…Jeff Davis, owner of Ladera Cyclery, and another business owner with a shop in the Mercantile West Shopping Center, both said today that they had received pay-or-quit notices from Westar on Friday. The other business owner declined to identify himself. To date, three Mercantile West businesses have said they received eviction notices. The center has 41 businesses.
Davis, who has owned and operated Ladera Cyclery since November 2004, said he is seeking a buyer for his business to avoid commercial bankruptcy.
Davis said his rent is 19 percent of his overhead.
“It should be 11 percent,” he said.
Davis said any potential buyer of the shop who inherited his lease would need to renegotiate its terms in order to survive.
Davis, a former employee for Siemens, said he is seeking a new job in the corporate sector…”
Unfortunately, Ladera Ranch has been hit particularly hard by the recession. I think it has one of the highest foreclosure rates in America. There are a lot of newer shops in Orange County and I’m sure some will suffer a similiar fate. OTOH, the established shops seem to be doing pretty well.
Stinks!!I may be following him soon if my landlord does not re-negotiate w/ me. It seems as though they would rather have an empty spot than help out, however.
We’re down but we’re not out yet. We’re playing hardball and we aren’t the only ones that recieved the notices. 13 businesses recieved them, all of us have leases due in and about 6 months from now. It’s a long process and I’ll be fighting them to the end. If we don’t survive this location, there are many more out there that we can re-locate to. we have a graet staff, great mechanics, and great products with VERY supportive vendors, and most of all GREAT customers. I can’t say enough about my customers and the moral support we recieve daily. It’s a challenging time, but each day brings brighter hope. As Scott Montgomery (SCOTT Bikes) tells me…step by step.
In a time like this Landlord’s need to understand that their success in generating NOI is only as good as their tenants. No tenants = no NOI.
If you have not already done so, have you and the other tenants tried to negotiate rent abatement and/or adjustments? As you probably already know, the Landlord/Tenant relationship is a love-hate relationship. I can’t imagine Westar finding 13 tenants in a market like this.
What is the total square feet of tenant space vs. shopping center? Perhaps Westar is in some financing problems as well??? It would be in the Landlord and Tenant’s best interest to find a mutual resolution, however Landlord’s typically only care about their rent. Depending on the overall circumstances you might want to try and go over the Landlord’s head and approach the bank/lender.
I’ve been asking for concessions for over a year now, and they really don’t care. we’re going to the owners of the property next, but their pockets are deeper than the Landlords so I doubt it will go anywhere either, but I’m staying positive every day and smile every time someone opens our front door to come in. Thanks for the support!
Good luck on getting through this mess. I’m based in NY but was in CA for a race last spring, and your guys really helped me out in a pinch. The race was the following day and I broke a derailleur during a last minute test ride, they had me repaired and out the door in an hour with no appointment.
Wish there were more shops like yours who really cater to athletes and go the extra mile.
As a business owner myself I really hate this for you. There is always some give and take when doing good business. Especially now. With so many businesses receiving notices, Westar should want to renegotiate to preserve some goodwill.
Keep your chin up man. 8 Years of crappy republican policy and impact can’t be undone in a month or two. It’s going to get better!
Ha Ha Ha “To err is republican to really fuck things up takes a dem”
As you know…it’s a number game between all parties.
If there are enough tenants that can “band” together you will have a little more strength in numbers. It really comes down to whether or not the Landlord wants you there at the end of the day. If they have enough room to absorb vacancy than they may try to play the “bully”. They could also have a re-leasing strategy??? Last, Landlord’s always fear the domino effect (i.e. once I give it to you, I’ll have to give it to everyone else).
Have you been able to find out if any of the other tenants have received any concessions? Has there been a lot of turnover in the shopping center? Have they lost any big box tenants (i.e. Circuit City, Linens N’ Things or any of the others that have gone BK).
If you can, it is better to work directly with the shopping center owner than having to go through either their real estate leasing broker (who only cares about making a deal to earn their commissions) or property manager (both will always give you the run around, since their client is the owner and not the tenant). The really smart/good owners/landlords understand that it is the tenant who is their client. It’s sometimes easier for the owner to hide behind these third parties than having to deal with the matter directly.
I am sorry to hear about this challenging situation - the news story sounded like it was over, but you are sounding optimistic here. That’s good. Take it one day at a time and see what you can do.
I have been to many bike and tri shops and I must say that Ladera is one of the nicest looking and best appointed shops that I have been in.
Thanks again to all. We had to make the article sound bad to get peoples attention, but I will always stay optimistic regardless of what happens. We’ll keep plugging away and I’ll keep everyone posted.
