Bucks over Beans

[Kentan]

I just read in the Westender that after 12 years in the same location, the owners of Bean Around the World on South Granville are being evicted by the same landlord who booted out the owners of SOMA on Main. After some protest, he offered to let them stay - if they agreed to a $2000 per month rent increase.

Instead, they're going to move their shop up the street to 3077 Granville, but unfortunately "the owners of the Bean Around the World licence, Cowboy Coffee, did not approve of the site and will not allow them to use the franchise title", for which they paid a lot of money for.

Full article here:Westender

I feel sorry for these owners who don't seem to have any recourse if a landlord decides to change tenants. It sounds like store owners have even fewer rights than apartment renters. Do restaurants get this kind of treatment very often? Anyone have any stories?

This has me so steamed (so to speak) that it's actually prompted me to post.

[stovetop]

I feel sorry for these owners who don't seem to have any recourse if a landlord decides to change tenants. It sounds like store owners have even fewer rights than apartment renters. Do restaurants get this kind of treatment very often? Anyone have any stories?

Thank you for caring:

We get this all the time; van property scene is brutal on the bus….. The turn over rate for restaurants in the lower Mainland as of late is very scary and the road to the Olympics will not be a path made of Gold…high rents will bury all profits, two weeks does not make a Year end!

My prediction will be the market will fall! (After)

Post Olympic the Hippies will cash out…. Sell sell sell

Maybe when the dust settles the restaurant bus can really get some decent rents …

Campbell knows dick about tourism… the Olympics is not about real-estate; it is about Culture; Canadian culture!!! And yes Sports!!!

peace steve

[Daddy-A]

the Olympics is not about real-estate; it is about Culture; Canadian culture!!!  And yes Sports!!!

Who are you kidding Steve? You may not want the ideal of the Olympics to be about real estate, the fact is that's exactly what it's all about. It business, and while it's unfortunate that a long standing business is getting exicted, it's completely within the owners' rights to do so. No laws have been broken. It may not be ethical, but nobody said business was ethical.

I was in Salt Lake City just before their Olympics, and the same complaints were being made. Rents went sky high, labour pools were stretched to the max ... same old same old.

So you can joust with windmills, or you can figure out how to make things work until the circus leaves town.

A.

[stovetop]

Not to get side tracked daddy-A; but there is always a downside to this speculation, all those properties of high value will loose there equity and so will a lot their owners. When the interest rates go up and the property go through the roof, places like the west side with very low population densities outside of kits beach will burst at the seams in tax value and all those roads and infrastructure that were put aside to build projects specifically for the Olympics will start to build up ... no more money.

When you have to pay 40 bucks for a main at a restaurant in Van and when staff will have to be paid more and about 50 % of your fav places go down well hey it is in the name of business.

1979 all over again--- I lived in Edmonton and watched the market deflate like a hot air balloon, the interest rates can not stay low forever... it is a matter of macro economics and the fact that the US economy is slowing and their debt is getting out of control. We are lucky we have the oil or Alberta is.

I hope all restaurants are braced for what will come... life will be fun but the cost of doing business will go up and staff will make great tips but if rent goes up who will be left after the circus leaves town and most of the clowns will be working in Alberta making more money and will have a place to live.

PS ...Calgary is still making money on the Olympics, and they have paid for the circus tents, Montréal is just about paid for?? (1976)

Vancouver will be paying for a while... the cost of construction has increased beyond expectations and with labour shortages they will have to bring in more foreign workers and someone will be upset about that?

All in the name of profit

I am a right wing Albertan old boy who has lived in BC for about the same time I lived in Alberta and TO and there is something running amuck.....

I don’t think I will be at the circus when it is in town... but I would not hold my breath unless it is on Bell

steve

[KarenDW]

I just read in the Westender that after 12 years in the same location, the owners of Bean Around the World on South Granville are being evicted by the same landlord who booted out the owners of SOMA on Main. After some protest, he offered to let them stay -  if they agreed to a $2000 per month rent increase.

Yeah, I read that article, too. Something about Barney's wanting to expand or something.

Instead, they're going to move their shop up the street to 3077 Granville, but unfortunately "the owners of the Bean Around the World licence, Cowboy Coffee, did not approve of the site and will not allow them to use the franchise title", for which they paid a lot of money for.

While the coffee supply and branding are going to be a part of the success of the relocated business, the other important part will be the operators. The folks that run the current shop seem so hospitable and genuine (from my infrequent visits) that they should be able to establish some good traffic in their new location. The building houses several offices, so there could be some ongoing potential.

Hurray for the Independents and Small Producers! There are more than a few local roasters of good, really good coffee beans in town.

[Kentan]

The nice couple who ran the Bean Around the World next to Caffe Barney on South Granville opened up their new coffee shop a couple of weeks ago. The Phoscao Cafe is at 3007 Granville, across from Meinhardt's. A big thumbs up for choosing JJ Bean as their coffee supplier. Now I don't have to wander down to G Island for my fix.

They've done a good job with the interior - lots of warm tones and wood. The layout is almost identical to the old location. The only downside is that the entrance is rather narrow, so the interior doesn't get a lot of natural light. On the plus side, they now have a bit of room for a couple of tables outside.

I'm glad they've opened where they have, since in my experience that side of the block has never had any food related businesses. Along with Ouisi Bistro across the street, and Chow in the 3100 block, it's really bringing some life to the south end of the South Granville strip.

[fud]

I feel sorry for these owners who don't seem to have any recourse if a landlord decides to change tenants. It sounds like store owners have even fewer rights than apartment renters. Do restaurants get this kind of treatment very often? Anyone have any stories?

←

I guess they're lease was up? I don't think an owner can raise rent after the lease was signed over a certain percentage as per the same type of rules as the rental tenancy act (perhaps a percentage allowed is higher).

Commercial Tenancy Act

I guess that is the nature of renting space for your business right? The owner does reserve the right to kick you out when the lease is up. I am pretty sad SOMA had to move though as I really liked their space and location.

[eatbc]

I feel sorry for these owners who don't seem to have any recourse if a landlord decides to change tenants. It sounds like store owners have even fewer rights than apartment renters. Do restaurants get this kind of treatment very often? Anyone have any stories?

←

I guess they're lease was up? I don't think an owner can raise rent after the lease was signed over a certain percentage as per the same type of rules as the rental tenancy act (perhaps a percentage allowed is higher).

Commercial Tenancy Act

I guess that is the nature of renting space for your business right? The owner does reserve the right to kick you out when the lease is up. I am pretty sad SOMA had to move though as I really liked their space and location.

←

No such luck.

The residential rules do not apply to commercial leases in our free-market world.

The commercial lease is a legal agreement between you and the landlord, and if lease extensions are laid out without restrictions or provision for arbitration, you're S.O.L.

Once the lease is up, if you have not negotiated a new one, the landlord is free to charge whatever they want for rent, or refuse to rent it to you for no particular reason.

Hint: When you see a commercial lease, get a really good lawyer and go over it very carefully.

[cafe queen]

Indeed, get the best lawyer you can afford when dealing with a commercial lease. $500-1500 bucks worth of information could be your best investment and can save alot of grief later on. It is certain that all of the parties that have been "evicted" have been either renting month to month or their leases had expired. Vancouver's retail market is changing fast and furious and definitely not for the better (particularly for the little micro business owner.) There is a nasty trend developing where landlords don't renew leases, jack up the rent on a month to month basis and then eventually kick out the tenants to take over the shop and run a similar type of business, picking up the good established business the poor previous tenant built up over several years. AND, don't forget to insist on an option to renew clause - a lifesaver.