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Willow Glen restaurant evicted after 7 years
Property owner says China Palace refused to pay rent, other fees
By Kate Carter
Lincoln Avenue restaurant China Palace closed its seven-year-old operation in a settlement with its new landlord over unpaid rent and other fees.
An appeal of an earlier court decision led to a Sept. 6 agreement allowing China Palace to stay on the property until the end of the month, and requiring owner Bill Yu to pay $21,731 of unpaid rent, damages and attorney's fees to property owner Stephen Hanleigh.
Court files indicate that Stephen Hanleigh Trust acquired the property at 1346 Lincoln, as well as a second floor space at 1352 Lincoln, in August of last year from previous owner Norma Fujikake. Hanleigh has since moved into the second floor office space, Hanleigh's attorney Todd Rothbard said.
According to court records, Rothbard said that when the Hanleigh Trust bought the property, Yu was not paying the appropriate amount of rent as stated in the lease agreement. The building was also not being kept up by the restaurant owner, and rent checks were arriving late or weren't clearing. Hanleigh asked Yu to pay an increased amount of rent and to pay a portion of the maintenance costs on the building. Hanleigh filed suit against Yu on June 19, after Yu missed a May 31 deadline to pay unpaid rent and insurance and maintenance costs.
According to court records, Yu's lawyer Ken Ahn, who would not answer questions about the case, said that Hanleigh breached the lease himself by improperly calculating the rent due and charging Yu for maintenance that was not Yu's responsibility. Yu claimed that Hanleigh was retaliating against him for refusing to sell him the property for less than market value and sought $10,000 in damages. Hanleigh could not be reached for this article.
After a two-day trial in late July, a judge decided in favor of Hanleigh and required Yu to pay $21,088 and to leave the property.
After the decision, Yu replaced his lawyer, Ahn, with Louis Spitters, who didn't return phone calls. Yu then appealed the decision, asking to be allowed to remain in the building because leaving would pose a serious financial burden.
Yu's appeal was denied on Sept. 1.
An eviction notice was posted on the front door of the restaurant on Oct. 2, although China Palace had already moved out. Rothbard said that Yu did violate the terms of the settlement in that he didn't completely remove everything and left behind a mess.
Other problems with the property included a sign the restaurant had on the front of the building that Rothbard said was in violation of Willow Glen's sign ordinances and water damage from an upstairs toilet that was backed up.
The property remains unoccupied, and Rothbard said he believes Hanleigh is planning to rent the space.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
