Dispute with its landlord could close The Glen

Lawyers say that improvements were made without landlord approval

By Jessica Lyons

The party may be over for The Glen.

During its rocky year-and-a-half in existence, Willow Glen's popular but controversial brew pub, restaurant and billiard hall has survived a name change, the smoke-free-bars law and neighborhood battles over a permit to pour drinks till 2 a.m. But unless it can outlast an eviction notice and lawsuit, The Glen may get the boot before its second birthday.

Lawyers for R & S Properties, Inc.--The Glen's landlord--say the upscale club added additional seating, a satellite dish and exterior power lines without obtaining the necessary city permits or landlord approval. So they served The Glen with an eviction notice.

Lawyers for The Glen say R & S wants to kick The Glen out of the building, bring in a new tenant and raise the rent. That's R & S Properties' motivation, according to The Glen's lawyers, for refusing to help the brew pub obtain the necessary use permits from the city. In response to the eviction notice, The Glen recently filed suit against R & S.

Now it's up to the courts to set a preliminary hearing date and decide the fate of The Glen.

"They tried to force the landlord to sign an acceptance of a new conditional use permit and the answer to that was no, we won't," says Larry Wallerstein, attorney for R & S Properties. "Now they're trying to get the courts to force us to do that. They're going to lose the lawsuit and unless they clean up their act, they're going to get thrown out."

The Glen violated the lease agreement by adding additional seating without adding parking spaces, installing a satellite dish and running exterior power lines, according to Wallerstein. He says The Glen didn't have the city permits to make these additions, nor did they have landlord permission.

But Zane D. Negrych, attorney for The Glen, has a different story. He charges that the landlords want The Glen out so they can up the rent on a key Lincoln Avenue location.

"Originally The Glen was just a shell," Negrych says. "What they have done to the place--it's miraculous. It's a beautiful interior and exterior. In my opinion, R & S refused to sign the permits because they would like to get this property back. They see the potential rent they could generate with another tenant."

It is the landlord's duty to help the tenant obtain the needed building and conditional use permits, and by refusing to sign the city papers, R & S is not fulfilling their side of the bargain, Negrych added.

"The Glen provided the plans, The Glen has taken all steps to fulfill obligations of the lease," Negrych says. "It's a catch-22 situation. The Glen has to be in compliance with the city, but without the landlord's signature on these documents, they can't comply."

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