02/17/2022
After five years of serving our guests at the District, Fine & Dandy will move locations to better serve those guests. We expect to have our re-grand opening in 2023.
Though we wanted to make this announcement at the right time and in the most positive way possible, we are forced to counteract false information about our departure. Fine & Dandy has filed suit against the landlord for fraud, amongst other things in Hinds County. We did not file this complaint to prevent eviction. In fact, we will continue to pay rent at the District even after our departure and until the courts decide on a settlement. The landlord has stated that we were late on rent payments in the past. That is accurate. However, we were late on rent payments at one time because the landlord overcharged Fine & Dandy by thousands of dollars each month. After we alerted the landlord to their mistake, the landlord threatened us with locked doors and confiscation of equipment if we didn't pay according to what they wanted to charge. So, we paid what the landlord required with the intent to resolve the matter amicably at a later point.
Then, COVID hit. And we did our best to maintain employment for everyone by converting the restaurant into a grocery store. Luckily, with revenue from the grocery store and help from the PPP funds, we were just able to maintain employment for those that needed it. And, we were able to supply our community with items not found in grocery stores at that time. Clearly, we could not afford rent and many expenses during the forced government shutdown. But for the most part, vendors were helpful, and we could catch them up upon reopening. We even agreed to an offer presented by the landlord to pay half rent during the six months of the government shutdown. But, the landlord also attempted to overcharge us for rent during the COVID shutdown. When we told the landlord their calculations were inaccurate, they became enraged and demanded we pay full rent during COVID despite their agreement to abate a portion of the rent accumulated at a time when we had an inability to produce revenue in a global pandemic. So, we paid the landlord in full for the COIVD rent based on the lease and our COVID rent agreement, not the overstated charges by the landlord. (full disclosure, we withheld the interest they charged). The payment we sent and they received and deposited was well over $100,000. The landlord has not returned that money by stating it is insufficient. . That money resides in their account to this day.
We decided to file suit and resolve the matter in court since the responses we received from the landlord regarding a resolution were anger and intimidation only. We even offered to split the difference between what the landlord and Fine & Dandy deemed was owed, but they denied that offer. Fine & Dandy presented the lawsuit to the landlord months before we filed, giving them a chance to prevent court action. Instead, the landlord threatened to evict us. That threat happened after we presented the suit.
While establishing the facts of the suit, we realized the landlord was aware of their grossly underestimated cost of the rent. And, according to the landlord, they needed our lease for their financing. Throughout our lease negotiations, we were clear about our sensitivity to lease costs as the Jackson community does not pay excessive money for their food. Value is significant to Jackson. So based on the representation of cost laid out in the landlord's lease and other terms for which the landlord has failed to comply, we signed the lease only to find ourselves in a position where the landlord expected us to pay thousands of more dollars per month than stated in the lease.
What we have laid out here is not the only issue for which we have a claim against the landlord. I will not bore you with the details as anyone can read the lawsuit posted on the Jackson Jambalaya blog with an article written, in my opinion, to the benefit of the landlord. According to the Jackson Jambalaya website, we filed a suit to avoid eviction; this is patently false. Furthermore, the author's writing sounds as if the accusations of fraud are on us, which is also false. The lawsuit for fraud is against the landlord. The blog writer has been responsive to my emails, asking him to clarify his language. But, we disagree on certain items. For example, the landlord is not claiming fraud against us, yet Jackson Jambalaya insists on keeping that in the article, stating it is a suitable synonym for forgery.
Moving forward, we will not respond publicly to further articles or attacks unless required. Besides, the landlord will deny most of what is stated here. And only time will tell who is being truthful.
Now that this information is on our Facebook, we expect the attacks on our character to increase. They have claimed we forged the lease, they have called us deadbeats, that have said we have been late on most of our lease payments (which is true), they have said Fine & Dandy is a lousy concept (which for some that might be true), and I am sure they will come up with more.
We are not trying to gouge the landlord for money in our lawsuit, and we are simply asking them to return us to pre-lease status, tear up the lease and move on.
Fine & Dandy does not have near the resources to match the landlord. And we expect this to be difficult. But what is right is right. We will not back down from bullying, and we want the facts to come out in the courts if no settlement can be reached.
Due to the article in the Jackson Jambalaya, we are forced to expedite our plans to change locations. We intended to let the employees know once everything was in place and the lawsuit was settled. We needed time to help place our employees in other positions in our company or elsewhere. . However, the Jackson Jambalaya article thwarted that. Many employees are letting us know they will not return, and I do not blame them. So, we hope to remain open so long as we have employees. And we will see you again in 2023.
