Elephant and Castle closes

[mr x]

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Unpaid rent forces pub’s closure

By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Fri, Sep 9 - 4:54 AM

Staffers at the insolvent Halifax company that operates as Elephant & Castle Pub & Restaurant arrived at work Thursday to find the doors locked.

The George Street pub owes the landlord about $30,000 in back rent, said Peter Baylis, who heads Mast at Dawn Restaurants Ltd., the local franchisee for the Boston-based chain of British-style pubs that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. earlier this summer after struggling through the recession and defaulting on its loans.

"Compass Commercial Realty is representing the landlord on that property," Baylis said Thursday.

"There has been some discussion going on about how to get caught up with the rent. They showed up and locked the doors because, at the 11th hour, they thought we weren’t holding up to our end of the bargain."

Baylis was hoping late Thursday that a deal could be brokered with Compass to keep open the two-floor establishment, which has a total capacity of 289 people.

"There are lawyers talking right now."

Compass president Robert Richardson confirmed the pub’s lease was terminated over unpaid rent, though he declined to name the amount.

"There’s a fair amount of arrears that are owed and the owner of the building would look to get paid," Richardson said.

"We’ve made that very clear to the tenant on a number of occasions and I’ve attempted to work with them. Information and funds along the way were not forthcoming. You have to appreciate, Elephant & Castle is a cash business. So it’s not like they’re waiting for any arrears."

He wouldn’t confirm the $30,000 figure provided by Baylis.

"We’re not looking to be heavy handed," Richardson said. "We tried to work with the operator as best we could."

A deal might be brokered with the pub, he said.

"We’d have to re-establish the relationships and they would pay the arrears."

Mast at Dawn filed documents last month with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy indicating it intends to make a proposal to its creditors.

"We haven’t received any proposal whatsoever," Richardson said.

The pub has been located in what’s known as the Merrill Lynch building for several years. Robin Halifax Holdings Ltd. owns the 3½-storey structure.

Quick turnaround from Saturday's 'everything's fine here' comment by the manager, lol.