Old City Hall, the Gilroy restaurant that enjoyed a short-lived
relationship with Hollister winemaker and local entrepreuner Frank
Leal, may soon have to close its doors in the historic building for
good.
Gilroy – Old City Hall, the Gilroy restaurant that enjoyed a short-lived relationship with Hollister winemaker and local entrepreuner Frank Leal, may soon have to close its doors in the historic building for good.
Cash-strapped owner Glen Gurries faces a possible eviction, as city attorneys begin discussing his failure to pay $1,000 in rent for the last three months on the city-owned property.
Officials have tallied his current bill as $3,000, which includes back rent for the months of October through December. Gurries, who closed the restaurant just before Christmas, said he is seeking to either re-open with a partner or to sell the business outright.
He said city attorneys are beginning the process of gaining control of the building for breach of contract.
Dorn said Gurries had an “erratic” history of lease payments throughout the last 12 to 13 months since he moved.
“He’d been late sometimes,” Dorn said. “Other times he’d pay ahead.”
The restaurant has faced steep utility costs since it opened in Oct. 2003. Gurries said he averaged between $4,000 and $4,500 per month in utility bills to operate his restaurant in the uninsulated historic building. Two other businesses have failed at the site since the city began leasing it in 1998.
Dorn said the city sent Gurries a delinquency notice on his rent at the beginning of December. The restaurant owner informed the city at the end of the month that he had closed his doors.
Leal partnered with the restaurant for less than a month last September and had promised to revamp the eatery with a diverse list of local wines, a new menu, entertainment and even valet parking.
