07/14/2017
Dear Clients and Friends,
JEM Hospitality has been running a successful banquet business at the SARCOA site at the Discovery Centre. This business has a duly signed lease with SARCOA spelling out the terms of our activities and payment schedule. We have honoured these terms to the letter and have invested resources to market the site with great success. In reliance on our lease, we have confirmed bookings well into 2018. Many of these events are weddings.
Through no fault of our own, our business has become collateral damage to a dispute between SARCOA and the Hamilton Waterfront Trust. We have been advised that although we always paid our rent to SARCOA, it was not making its payments to the Waterfront Trust, which leases the property from the City of Hamilton.
We have been pleading with the Trust to allow us to continue and had worked out some temporary arrangements. Unfortunately, the Waterfront Trust was not willing to provide a long term lease. Any arrangements would have required us to cancel most of our upcoming events. Rather than lay off our staff and disappoint our guests, many of whom have trusted us with their wedding, we have identified another venue.
We will shortly be announcing details of an arrangement with the Burlington Atrium. This arrangement will include access to three other venues. Our guests will have the choice of several wonderful options, not far from the Discovery Centre.
We are very disappointed that we have been forced to take this step. Nonetheless, we are going to ensure that our guests enjoy their special day in an excellent location.
JEM Hospitality
