Following eviction threat in court, Hofbräuhaus lawyers say business paid rent

ST. PETERSBURG — Property owners of the Hofbräuhaus filed a lawsuit last month demanding the business pay up missing rent and, according to a new court filing, the beer hall did just that.

But the legal drama isn’t over.

The legal dispute began when the landlord of the property at 123 Fourth St. S filed a lawsuit at the beginning of October that said the beer hall’s operators were on the hook for millions of dollars after breaking their lease agreement.

The businesses owners — who call themselves the Bavarian Partnership — say they have now not only paid the missing rent of nearly $40,000, but another $25,000, too, according to a motion filed on Nov. 18.

Further, the beer hall operators argue they were never properly served notices to begin with. Rather, they claim, documents were given to a security guard, not someone in charge.

That security guard, they say, didn’t even work in the same building as the person the documents needed to reach: Big Boy Restaurants CEO David Crawford.

Related: St. Pete’s Hofbräuhaus faces eviction, lawsuit says

Crawford, whose company is based in Michigan, is part of the Bavarian Partnership and signed the Hofbräuhaus lease as a guarantee.

Crawford’s attorney, Joel M. Arestry, wrote in the recent filing that as soon as his client learned that landlord WG St. Pete was pursuing eviction, he got an attorney.

The court documents say that after the business paid more than $60,000 to WG, the landlord told Crawford it would “accept the rent going forward.”

Because Crawford and the Bavarian Partnership didn’t respond with the proper documents by Oct. 30, the court issued a default against them. Arestry argues in a motion that the missed deadline was because the notice went to the security guard.

Arestry asks in his filing that the default be set aside so “the case can proceed on its merits.”

The case seeks to evict the beer hall and argues that, because Hofbräuhaus missed its rent on Aug. 1, it now owes its landlord $7.1 million — the amount of money that was to be paid out during its 15-year lease agreement.

Aresty did not respond to a request for comment.