09/22/2016
Dear Friends and Supporters of Sunset & Vines,
It is now about 24 hours since we surrendered Sunset & Vines' keys to Pacific Capital, the landlord of the village and with that we put to rest this chapter of Sunset & Vines.
The outpouring of support, thoughts and comments at our closing has been more than I could have possibly expected, and for that, words cannot express the gratitude I and the family of Sunset & Vines employees feel.
I took the liberty, on our staff's and your behalf, to give the keys to the landlord's representative along with a few choice words about the harm they've intentionally inflicted on individuals and the community at large. The landlord, lacking the nerve to sign his name on our letter of default, or to personally show up to re-take possession of his building, sent a "messenger" (as she referred to herself) to do the final closing.
In my opinion, he, along with his "business associates", has carried out a concerted campaign, with willful, malicious intent to diminish the tenancy of the village. To what end?...who knows? They've created the "ghost town", the "graveyard", the "deserted village" I've had numerous discussions with people who happened to visit over the past several years.
Our ownership signed the lease for Sunset & Vines in good faith, accepting terms that, had we known what the landlord's future strategy was to be, we should have never accepted. In short order after we signed the lease in May, 2013 the casino closed. Not long after, started the pattern of losing tenants...Flights of Fancy, Silver Sassy, two coffee shops, Tesoro, Portofino, Turquoise Door, Mishegoss, Solo Mist, Bernard's Bistro, Xing Asian Bistro, our Before Sunset Cafe...and I've probably missed a few others on this list. The not unexpected effect of this, reduced foot traffic, which became reduced revenues, which became our un-survivable lease with its built in scheduled rent increases each year, the most recent a 17% increase that took effect July 1st. And along with that, are 20 good people who've lost their jobs.
I will keep this email list and keep everyone informed on all updates of future plans. For those among you who would like to keep in personal contact with me, please respond to this email and I will exchange personal contact information with you.
All of us at Sunset & Vines are eternally thankful for honoring us with your support,
Max
