In a lawsuit pitting the cr?e de la cr?e of the Wine Country hospitality and restaurant business against each other, the owners of Cyrus Restaurant are suing the owners of the Les Mars Hotel, claiming interference with their business.
The owners of the fine-dining, two-star Michelin restaurant in Healdsburg allege the new owners of the swank Les Mars Hotel are unfairly trying to evict them from the building they share.
Cyrus owners claim the hotel owners who bought the Les Mars in Healdsburg for $5.2 million last year are attempting to wrest control of the restaurant's ground-floor space.
In the lawsuit filed last week in Sonoma County Superior Court, Cyrus owners said the Les Mars proprietors have engaged in "a pattern of abuse, threat and intimidation," intended to force them out of their lease. They seek as-yet unspecified damages.
Chef-owner Douglas Keane said the hotel owners twice have served eviction notices and inaccurately claimed Cyrus had missed a rent payment. He said they spread false information to the restaurant's main investors, tantamount to "trade slander."
In essence, Keane portrays the dispute as motivated by the hotel's lack of a restaurant, room service and bar.
According to the lawsuit, Cyrus owners declined an offer to help manage the hotel and provide room service, something the hotel needs. The suit says the proposal would not have been profitable.
The 16-room Les Mars, where rates start at $575 per night, has rooms that feature antique furniture, fireplaces and high-ceilings, and sheets made by the same Italian linen maker that provides bedding for the pope.
Cyrus shares a portion of the ground floor, but the doors between the hotel lobby and restaurant are closed.
The lawsuit names as defendants the Hotel Les Mars LLC and managing member David Fink and his affiliated company the Mirabel Restaurant and Hotel group.
Representatives for the Les Mars declined comment Wednesday, but issued a statement saying: "Our intent is to be civil, respectful neighbors and create a new sense of positive synergy and cooperation between the two highly acclaimed properties. Of course we are not in a position to comment on pending litigation which will be vigorously defended through the appropriate court processes."
The lawsuit also identifies wine mogul Bill Foley, owner of Chalk Hill and Sebastiani wineries, and his wife Carol Foley, as the ones who financed the purchase of the Les Mars by the newly created limited-liability company.
The lawsuit alleges that among other things, the landlord refused to pay for damages from water leaks from the hotel into the restaurant. One incident in May culminated with the fire alarm and sprinklers activating during dinner service at Cyrus, forcing dinner guests to be moved outside after water "poured on to expensive food in the kitchen."
Cyrus has been open since 2005 and has a 20-year lease it signed in 2003, according to Keane. He said the restaurant has an option to renew the lease in several more years.
Essentially the only way the lease cannot be renewed or the restaurant evicted is "if we don't pay rent, or turn it into a meth lab," Keane said.
But he said his main reason for filing suit is "I want to run the business and be left alone."
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: