Columbia Citizens

this is confirmed on their facebook page, also seattle met has had a post about this. sep 17 is the last day

Super dislike!
Anyone know why they are losing their lease?

From Facebook:

Our new last brunch and dinner service will be Saturday, September 24th.

OK, this is disturbing in my mind.

First, I think the moderator should confirm that this is indeed Garrett. I'm sure it is; however, it is reasonable to get 3rd party confirmation as to not give trolls the pleasure.

I in general believe that landlords should have the right to run whatever business they need to run; however, I do believe they should be honest and upfront with their reasoning. If Verve was fully capable of paying competitive market rates for the space and are being forced out, Peter Lamb should at least explain this decision. No, he is under no obligation to do so, but if he intends to keep developing Columbia City it would be courteous to explain his reasoning for his decisions.

"It sounds like the end of the story hinged on the tenants' needs/desires for additional flexibility, and the landlord's ability/willingness to offer that flexibility."

That's putting it very diplomatically, but it's a huge assumption to think both sides of the tenant/landlord relationship have equal power in negotiations, and that there's transparency and good will on both sides. Still, your phrase, "the landlord's ability/willingness", does point in the right direction, in my opinion.

Rather than engage in any "he said / she said" discussion all the community needs to do is watch Verve's (old) space. If it sits empty for as long as Kallaloo did earlier this year (and let's face it with that back alley location it should sit empty for far longer) then, though the landlord didn't have the "ability/willingness" to continue renting to Verve, they were still willing and able to assume the risk of losing rent on the space as it sits on the market.

However, if a new tenant starts moving in within a month or two we can all be fairly certain that Pete Lamb sold out a vital piece of Columbia City's soul for just a few more pieces of silver per month.