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Owners and staff of a popular Hamilton burger restaurant have been evicted over an escalating dispute with their landlord. A bailiff’s notice on the front door of Chuck’s Burger Bar says the tenants have ‘breached covenant’ and have seven business days to remove their belongings.
Instead of the usual packed dining room.
Locke Street lunchtime patrons are now greeted with termination of tenancy papers posted on the front door of Chuck’s Burger Bar.
“It sucks. I was looking forward to it today.”
The notice was served Monday by Ontario Bailiff Rick Schwarzer. He told CHCH that the owners had been notified of several breaches dating back to April that had yet to be fixed.
Landlord Kevin Turbitt says the tenants have been good about paying rent, but there are many other things that don’t meet code, and some of those problems are affecting the enjoyment of others living in the shared complex.
There are 8 units above the restaurant. One tenant tells us every time a burger is thrown on the grill there are plumes of smoke rising up to these apartments. And that the vent, which appears to be cracked, is so noisy that it is like having a transport truck constantly idling in the driveway.
Paul Dancsak who lives above the building next door has noticed the issue: “The smoke used to come out here, like you could smell burgers from blocks away. So I’m thinking the ventilation system was probably messed up.”
The landlord says his lawyers are negotiating with the owner’s lawyers and he hopes they can arrive at a solution.
Chuck’s co-owner Erin Millward confirms her lawyers are in talks, and says their main concern is reopening and getting their employees back to work.
After speaking briefly with Millward over the phone, she emailed us a statement on behalf of herself and her partner Chris Preston. It reads in part: “We are sorry that we have unfortunately reached an impasse in working with our landlord to address issues concerning costly renovations, and we would like to get back to discussing a mutually agreeable solution with him as quickly as possible. We do not want to rehash our disagreement in the media; we want our 25 employees back working, especially given it is so close to the holiday season.”
