The City of Williamsburg received a boost in its legal dispute with The Jewish Mother restaurant.
A Williamsburg-James City County court issued a default judgment in favor of the Williamsburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which operates under the purview of the city, against the restaurant and concert venue and its owner Scotty Miller.
A representative for the restaurant did not show up for Monday’s court date.
The WRHA filed a warrant in debt seeking $9,522.41 with 8 percent interest per annum from The Jewish Mother and Miller on Oct. 10. The business defaulted on its five-year lease for the city-owned Triangle Building, at the corner of Armistead Avenue and Prince George St., in August.
Miller signed the five-year lease with the city in September 2013, but the Virginia Beach-based restaurant consistently missed rent, tenant and utility payments during its 10-month run in the city. The restaurant’s Virginia Beach location closed in September.
The Jewish Mother has 10 days to appeal the ruling, then the city will determine whether there are any assets on which to collect.
The two spaces in the Triangle Building formerly occupied by The Jewish Mother remain vacant, but Director of Economic Development Michele DeWitt said the city was actively seeking new tenants and hoped to fill the spaces soon.
The building came under the city’s purview in October 2012, when the City Council assumed control of WRHA. DeWitt said the building is currently operated through the Office of Economic Development, primarily by DeWitt and Economic Development Specialist Corinne Blackford.
RJS & Associates serves as the commercial broker for the building, soliciting new tenants for unoccupied spaces and managing tenants during their time in the building. The firm also handles common area fees and upkeep for the building, including trash collection and parking lot maintenance.
When looking at new tenants, DeWitt said RJS goes through a preliminary vetting process, which includes an inspection of the business’ track record, sales projections and five-year earnings projections, among other factors. The firm then presents the city with a professional recommendation on whether to pursue a lease with the business.
RJS receives a 6 percent fee, taken from monthly rent, for bringing in new tenants to the Triangle Building, and a 1 percent fee for managing the building.
DeWitt said the city takes RJS’s recommendations into account and then completes its own vetting of prospective tenants. If the city likes the business, City Manager Jack Tuttle will sign off on the lease.
The city has gone through this process once during its control of the Triangle Building — leasing to The Jewish Mother out of several prospective occupants.
“The live music component seemed to fill in a nice addition to that corridor in terms of activity for students, visitors and residents,” DeWitt said.
Despite the restaurant’s brief run in the city, DeWitt said her office did not plan on changing the way it seeks out new tenants for the Triangle Building, calling The Jewish Mother’s default an “unusual circumstance.” DeWitt said the vetting processes for both RJS and the city were standard landlord procedures.
“When we vetted them, they had the strongest [resume], they had been in business for 40 years, they had the financials,” she said. “Everything looked like they were the better [option]. This was the original Jewish Mother management from the beach location from 1974, it seemed like they were the most likely to do well. At the end of the day, that was not the case.”
Miller, who was not one of the original owners of the restaurant, became sole owner of The Jewish Mother around 2004.
DeWitt said the former Jewish Mother Spaces are outfitted with the necessary equipment to support a restaurant, and the space had been occupied exclusively by restaurants for the length of her time with the city, which dates back to 2005. However, DeWitt said the city is willing to consider businesses other than restaurants as occupants.
DeWitt said the city was disappointed with the demise of The Jewish Mother, but learned valuable lessons for the future, although she did not get into specifics.
“Most certainly we have learned things in how we’ll move forward with future tenants,” she said.
Related Coverage:
- City Files Suit Against Jewish Mother Restaurant Over Unpaid Bills
- City Pursuing Legal Action Against The Jewish Mother
- Aromas Signs Short-Term Lease for Former Jewish Mother Deli Spot
- The Jewish Mother Closes One Year into Five-Year Lease
- Aromas to Open Location at William & Mary’s Swem Library
- Deli Portion of Jewish Mother to Open Today in Williamsburg
- The Jewish Mother: Norfolk Closed; Williamsburg Still On
- Jewish Mother to Open Location in Williamsburg
