The landlord of Circle Centre is again suing Bella Vita restaurant over unpaid rent, this time claiming the mall tenant owes
$77,275.24.
In a lawsuit filed Jan. 24 in Marion Superior Court, Circle Centre Mall LLC alleges the restaurant has been in default of
its lease since Nov. 10. Restaurant operator Najem Enterprises Inc. also is named as a defendant.
Circle Centre first sued Bella Vita in June 2010 over $96,523.23 in unpaid rent, according to
the previous suit.
Bella Vita owner Henri Najem has operated a Bella Vita restaurant in the Indianapolis area since 1998 along with his wife,
Shelley, including the past seven years at Geist Marina. The owners in January 2010 opened a second Bella Vita in high-traffic
space on the first floor of Circle Centre that had been empty since longtime tenant Bertolini’s closed in March 2008.
Najem could not be reached Monday morning for comment. Neither could Richard M. Giesel, an attorney at local law firm Gaston
Cavanaugh & Giesel, which represents Circle Centre.
According to court documents, Bella Vita in November 2009 executed a lease agreement for 6,490 square feet of space in Circle
Centre, agreeing to pay $200,000 in the first year in equal installments due the first day of each month. In the second year
of Bella Vita’s lease, rent was slated to increase to $206,000, with another increase to $212,180 scheduled for the
third year.
Circle Centre implies in its lawsuit that Bella Vita’s latest financial struggles began in June 2011, when the landlord
agreed to lend the restaurant $150,000 at 3.25-percent interest to be paid in 19 consecutive installments.
Then, in September, Circle Centre agreed to amend Bella Vita’s lease by agreeing to accept $179,000 as a settlement
for overdue rent totaling $191,863, according to court documents.
But Circle Centre declared the promissory note and lease amendment in default on Nov. 10 and demanded Bella Vita pay the
balance within two weeks, the lawsuit said.
Circle Centre wants immediate possession of the space and says the $77,275.24 that Bella Vita owes is set to increase monthly
by $20,547.23.
The restaurant remains open.
IBJNews
Circle Centre again suing Bella Vita over unpaid rent
Scott Olson
January 30, 2012
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The lack of street-level retail in this part of the Block 400 development is a huge oversight and somewhat perplexing given the high quality of recent city-backed developments downtown. This portion of an otherwise stellar development is going to have an extremely negative impact on the aesthetics, urban environment, walkability, and livability of the NW quad.
I'm not sure why One America would oppose including retail. And I find it very hard to believe that the thousands of office workers literally footsteps away wouldn't be able to support new lunchtime destinations and other businesses along Illinois and Vermont. We've got to reconnect the disjointed segments of our blossoming downtown, not create yet another lifeless dead zone that no one wants to walk through. Sadly, that is exactly what this massive ugly single-use structure will accomplish.
Why not follow the precedent set by the proposed garage in Broad Ripple and create an attractive mixed-use structure? Why does the city get it there but not downtown? -
Bear mind that DS is just not another lazy, rich kid. He attended Columbia grad school and was in investment banking for 4 or 5 years before joining his dad's company. An annual grant of stock options at market price would be the correct pay-for-performance program then no one could argue with it.
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This comes from an executive who gave his wife a Bentley as a wedding present. He is heir to billions of dollars. He should be working for a dollar a year and stock options only. Seems like a conflict of interest, time to bring in a non-relative as CEO. Haven't met him, but have heard his arrogance is legendary.
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If the property is improved, property taxes increase - more revenue. If AUL's employment grows, more income taxes - more revenue. If more people move and/or work downtown, it means more demand for goods and services, more employment, more taxes - more revenue, etc., etc. It's not just the city throwing money at big companies. There's much, much more. Yes, the project has private backing, but apparently not enough to make the deal work and therefore they don't have it covered. And while Marsh is a nice anchor, they are no credit tenant like a Kroger or somebody. And if the police department has a major shortfall, they need to reduce the force. This city has way too many policemen.
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It's hard to defend billionaires, but David Simon has created a tremendous amount of value for shareholders since joining the company. He is widely regarded as one of the best CEOs in America. The company is growing and making good strategic decisions. And Indy is fortunate to have SPG HQ'd here. Now, does that merit $120 million (about 15 mil over 8 years or so)? Maybe. But this family and David have truly built a business. Should Zuckerberg be worth $20 bil? Who knows. Hopefully David will be supportive of Hoosier charities like his family has.
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Did you really think Tim was smart enough to make it in the market? NA. Why don't you turn evidence against him now, Henry--you know, on the Cellstar and Brighpoint. You can do it. Make your kids proud for a change.