Gather GVL, the outdoor food hall in downtown Greenville's west end, has filed a lawsuit against nearly half of its partners over a rent dispute amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A Greenville County circuit judge is scheduled to make a ruling on the case on Aug. 19.
The lawsuit filed in June is against Cocobowlz, Saki Saki Hibachi and Poke Bowls, Sweet Sippin, West End Coffee Bar, Prost! and Rocky Moo. The complaint alleges that the tenants have misinterpreted the terms of their lease and have been improperly operating under the assumption they've been granted more than a year's worth of free rent.
The lawsuit also spells out lease requirements for the tenants to operate on a full-time basis. The COVID-19 pandemic has left some limiting their hours to navigate an unexpected economic downturn.
Gather GVL owners Doug and Mack Cross, founders of Four Oaks Property Group, own the property and rent each space to tenants through individual lease agreements.
The lawsuit seeks a judge's ruling to clarify the tenant's rights and responsibilities.
An attorney listed for the tenants, Christopher Brumback, did not immediately return a call or email for comment.
Most of the tenants named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to calls or emails. Rocky Moo owner Dennis Wong directed questions to Brumback.
The food hall officially opened Feb. 18 and stayed open for a month before shutting down for seven weeks at the start of the pandemic.
The establishment now operates at 50% capacity as required by Gov. Henry McMaster's latest executive order, said Doug Cross.
The outdoor communal space includes 13 food and beverage concepts, many of which are led by trained chefs who are "great at what they do" and are "creating magic," Cross said.
More: Here's what you should know about Gather GVL, Greenville's new food hall
The food hall was delayed in opening, and that created a disagreement in the amount of time the tenants would not have to pay rent, according to Cross and the lawsuit. A free rent period is mentioned in the leases, but tenants are in disagreement over how to interpret that language, according to the lawsuit.
The lease agreements are referenced in the lawsuit but are under seal and therefore not available to the public.
Cross said he understands the challenges for the tenants to operate during the pandemic, which compounds the issue of the disputed lease agreements and whether tenants are obligated to pay rent now.
"It's all about just trying to navigate through this short-term challenge," Cross said.
More: Coronavirus will change Greenville's restaurant scene, but what it will be depends on aid
Gather GVL has had to spend money it didn't initially anticipate to comply with pandemic guidelines calling for things like additional cleanings and occupancy-monitoring, Cross said.
"We as the landlord are incurring all of those expenses and doing the best we can to comply with all the guidelines and create an environment where they can be successful, but for them not to be paying rent for a year or more, from our perspective, is inequitable," Cross said.
While restaurants across the state have reopened with limited capacity and tables that allow for social distancing, and that has hurt the business owners and employees financially, the tenants at Gather GVL face a particular dilemma. The intention of the entire space is communal, and it has a design to serve more than 450 occupants if business is good. And business was good, crowds would indicate, in the brief period between its opening and the life-changing COVID-19 restrictions.
McMaster's latest order requires a special exemption for gatherings of more than 250.
More: Greenville's new food hall, Gather GVL, has entrepreneurial spirit and sense of community
Cross said he is sympathetic to his tenants now facing the reality and complexity of running their businesses with half of their expected client base.
He said he is intentionally being flexible with tenants' limiting and adjusting their hours temporarily due to the pandemic, but he said he wants tenants to know that the flexibility will fade as the threat of COVID-19 lessens, which is why the lawsuit mentions legal obligations for operating hours despite the pandemic.
Gather GVL's website lists its hours as 8 a.m to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday. A note at the top of its website now states "VENDOR HOURS MAY VARY DUE TO COVID-19."
Cross said there is "no animosity" toward the tenants despite the disagreement.
"There is some language in the lease which requires them to be open certain days and certain hours. We wanted to mention that because at some point we'll be through the pandemic and they need to uphold their legal obligation to be open on certain days at certain times," Cross said. "Over time, those days and hours are important. We don't want people walking in there and you have 13 different restaurants and beverage purveyors in there and two of them are open. That doesn't fulfill the mission of Gather as a community gathering place and a food and beverage collective. Gather ultimately will fail if too many of these tenants aren't open."
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Daniel J. Gross is an investigative watchdog reporter focusing on public safety and law enforcement for The Greenville News. Reach him at dgross@greenvillenews.com or on Twitter @danieljgross.
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