A Thai restaurant slated to come to New Town near the Regal movie theater may no longer come to fruition.
Chiangmai Thai Bistro announced last fall plans to open the restaurant in early 2019, serving family-curated recipes from the owner’s mother such as fried chicken, pork curry, spicy sausage, green chili, sticky rice and fried banana.
A civil lawsuit filed in the local circuit court shows Derrick and Nathaphorn Snow, tenants and Chiangmai Thai Bistro owners, signed a lease Oct. 9, 2018 with Developers Realty for the space at 4915 Courthouse St.
The space was formerly occupied by Candy Land, which closed in 2017 after defaulting on its rent.
Then, the Snows allegedly failed to pay “all of the rents and charges” for the space, according to the lawsuit filed in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court.
At the time of the lawsuit’s July 17 filing, Williamsburg Developers said the Snows owed $24,881.86 to the landlord when they were given a written notice of default July 1.
While that’s all Chiangmai Thai Bistro currently owes in rent, their lease spanned four years — meaning Williamsburg Developers are seeking a $788,478.32 judgement covering overdue and future rent under the contract.
The lease term is until Feb. 28, 2029, according to documents.
Williamsburg Developers is also seeking $309,822.48 in a judgement against the guarantors, both Derrick and Nathaphorn Snow.
The lawsuit states the landlord has made an effort to lease the space to another tenant since the Snows defaulted on their rent payments, but had not yet found a replacement lease for the space as of July 17.
“Landlord has suffered damages as a result of Tenant’s default under the Lease, and Guarantors’ breach of the Guaranty,” the lawsuit reads.
A copy of the agreement between Chiangmai Thai Bistro and Williamsburg Developers shows the minimum rent for the 2,865-square-foot space was $20 per square foot. The Snows needed to pay between $4,775 and $5,820.73 each month for the 10-year lease.
The Snows have not filed a response to the allegations in court.
There were no future court hearings scheduled in the case as of Tuesday.
Andrew Franck, attorney for Williamsburg Developers, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon. A woman who answered the phone at his law office said he would not be back in the office until Wednesday.
A voicemail left on a phone number listed for Chiangmai Thai Bistro on lease documents was not immediately returned.
