“Lawsuits traded in Fresno restaurant closure”

Lawsuits traded in Fresno restaurant closure

Posted: 23 Oct 2010 09:50 PM PDT

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Bill and Teresa Beukers thought they had found their piece of the American dream when they opened Rhema restaurant in a fashionable northeast Fresno shopping center.

But 14 months later, Rhema went out of business.

Initially, the Beukerses chalked it up to a horrible economy. Now, they are in Fresno County Superior Court, accusing the shopping center's landlord, Via Montaña, and Grubb & Ellis/Pearson Commercial brokerage firm of putting them out of business in May 2008.

The Beukerses have sued their landlord and its brokerage firm on several fronts, including breach of contract, negligence and intentional interference of business practices.

Via Montaña has countersued the Beukerses and Bill's father, Don Beukers, alleging breach of contract. The three Beukerses signed a 10-year lease, but quit paying after depositing about $30,000 for rent and a security deposit, said attorney Richard Belardinelli, who represents Via Montaña.

The three-week trial in Judge Hilary Chittick's courtroom started Wednesday. Testimony will resume Monday.

The Beukerses were first-time restaurant owners when they opened Rhema at the Via Montaña shopping center at Champlain Drive and Shepherd Avenue around February 2007. The restaurant specialized in tapas, small-plate dining of appetizers and exotic meats, such as grilled ostrich with poached pear and brie cheese.

Don Beukers, 71, and a retired electrical contractor worth about $5 million, was going to bankroll the business, Belardinelli told jurors.

When the Beukerses signed the lease in May 2006, the economy was booming in Fresno. What's in dispute is whether a bad economy the following year and the couple's inexperience doomed their establishment.

The Beukerses' attorneys -- Nathan Miller, Mary Castro-Ayala and Christopher Rudd -- contend that management of Via Montaña and employees of Grubb & Ellis/Pearson Commercial deceived the Beukerses.

The Beukerses wanted to open Rhema at River Park or another upscale shopping center, so they hired an employee from the commercial brokerage firm to make their dream come true, Rudd told jurors.

But every time the Beukerses suggested a restaurant location, the agent gave them reasons why it wasn't a good choice, Rudd said. Instead, the agent steered them to the Via Montaña shopping center, Rudd said.

At the time, the Beukerses were unaware that Grubb & Ellis/Pearson Commercial also represented Via Montaña, because their agent never told them, Rudd said.

Via Montaña was advertised as an upscale shopping center, but one of the tenants was Dollar Tree, Rudd said. The Beukerses and many other tenants at the shopping center complained that Dollar Tree wasn't a good fit, saying the discount store's customers likely weren't into fine dining.

Via Montaña had a motive to keep Dollar Tree as a tenant, Rudd said. Via Montaña was looking to sell the shopping center and it needed every space occupied, he said.

The lease the Beukerses signed gave them exclusive rights to tapas, Rudd said. But 250 feet from Rhema was another restaurant -- Rumba Latin Fusion -- which also had tapas on its menu, Rudd said. Rumba Latin Fusion went out of business around the same time as Rhema.

Rudd told jurors that Via Montaña management never enforced Rhema's exclusive rights to tapas. Management also never let the Beukerses put a Rhema sign on the shopping center marquee to help it advertise, he said.

Regarding the unpaid rent, Rudd blamed Via Montaña. "They breached the contract," he said. "They were in no position to ask for rent."

But Belardinelli said Via Montaña staff did everything they could to help the Beukerses. The shopping center invested more than $130,000 in improvements for the Rhema location, Belardinelli said.

Though the rent was $10,800 a month, Via Montaña managers didn't pester the Beukerses to pay, because they wanted to give them a chance to turn the business around, Belardinelli said.

Via Montaña is a high-end shopping center, Belardinelli told jurors, noting that it has nice buildings, manicured lawns and fountains. Dollar Tree also fits in nicely, he said, because the store pulls in people from all economic classes.

Except for Dollar Tree, the Beukerses never complained about the shopping center until they went out of business, Belardinelli said. He showed the jurors an e-mail from the Beukerses to Via Montaña staff. The July 16, 2007, e-mail said: "Thank you for your patience and your belief in us."

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