State Street landmark Nadia’s Restaurant and Grapevine Lounge has officially closed and been repossessed after years of controversy between the restaurant’s owners and landlords about its condition, success and marketability.
A sign on one of the dark windows announced the final decision.
“Pursuant to Court Order, this property is now in the possession of the Landlord,” the sign said.
According to Dane County Circuit Court documents, Madison Property Management decided to repossess the business because of irregular payments and numerous structural problems, including significant leaks.
“It fully appears that the Defendants wish to remove the Plaintiff from the premises,” the documents said.
The documents, however, indicate that landlords may not have followed through on their end of the lease either.
Landlords, the document states, are required by the property’s lease agreement to “maintain the structure of the premises.” The documents, however, point toward several instances where this agreement was not upheld.
A letter from the attorneys of Nadia’s owners Abdul and Cindy Bensaid said “this case is about a Landlord that failed to fix a leaky roof.”
“It is undeniable that there are significant and unacceptable leaks in the roof of the premises,” the letter said. “Under the lease the Landlord was required to maintain the structure, which includes the roof. The only real question in this case is how to measure Plaintiffs’ damages.”
The lease has been held since January 2002.
The documents said this failure to fix the problems was a breach of contract. Furthermore, the documents said, the landlords’ decision led to the owners investing “substantial” amounts of money in their restaurant’s repairs.
“The leaks have caused significant damages to Nadia’s business fixtures, leasehold improvements, household interest, business equipment, personal property, and have caused a loss of income over at least the last five to seven years,” the documents said.
According to the documents, the owners put Nadia’s up for sale in March of 2010, perhaps as a result of the financial burden their restaurant presented.
Talks began in March 2010 between the owners and Marc and Eric Fortney of Fortney Companies Inc. The Fortneys, who also own Brothers Bar and Grill, expressed interest in buying the restaurant.
At a meeting with the owners, the documents said, the Fortneys appeared interested in the property and discussed manipulating it to meet their specific needs.
Shortly after the meeting, however, they stopped returning phone calls and emails from the owners and their realtor, Kathy Griswold.
The documents said the case’s defendants, including MPM, the Fortneys, and two other companies, decided to cooperate with each other and cut the owners out of the prospective deal. As a result, the sale never went through.
“By going behind Nadia’s back and dealing directly with each other, Defendants intentionally interfered with Nadia’s prospective contractual relationships and actual contractual relationships, causing plaintiffs damages,” the documents said.
The combination of economic hardships eventually led to the restaurant’s closing.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, who represents the area, said Nadia’s closing is not representative of the success of businesses in his district.
“While economic times are tough, many businesses on State Street are thriving,” he said. “Between the recall, general Madison business and University of Wisconsin events, most are doing very well.”
