RICHMOND – The days of Riggers Loft Wine Company, long considered the crown jewel of Richmond’s waterfront, could also be numbered.
Nearly a decade after opening, owners of R&B Cellars and Riggers Loft wine bar, Barbara and Kevin Brown, at the moment are in a legal battle with their landlord – the City of Richmond – to forestall the closure of the favored winery.
Last month, the town filed legal motion to repossess the property on the Port of Richmond, arguing that the Browns were tons of of 1000’s of dollars behind on rent and had missed agreed-upon payment deadlines.
The Browns, meanwhile, dispute the quantity of their debt and filed their very own lawsuit against Richmond last October after the town sent them a letter threatening eviction if certain demands weren’t met.
The city is searching for $392,248.57 in unpaid rent, including late fees and interest, while the Browns claim they’re only obligated for $228,000. City Attorney Dave Aleshire didn’t reply to requests for comment, but within the lawsuit filed last month, the town said the Browns still owe “$285,845 in past-due rent, plus late fees and interest.”
“Given the large amount of rent arrears from 2019, the (city) has incurred a significant financial loss, which will only increase the longer RLWC uses the premises,” the filing states.
The Browns claim they were blindsided by the town's demands. The couple had discussed an updated repayment plan with the town, nevertheless it fell through after recent council members were elected in 2022.
“We tried to find a way to talk to them, but it soon became clear that it wasn't going to work,” Kevin Brown said in an interview.
A promising start
Owning her own bar was Barbara Brown’s dream.
The couple had founded R&B Cellars in Alameda but were searching for a brand new, everlasting location in 2014 after they began talks with Jim Matzorkis, the longtime executive director of the Port of Richmond, in line with legal filings and an interview with the Browns.
Matzorkis reportedly suggested the couple open their winery in certainly one of the historic World War II warehouses – a dilapidated 22,000-square-foot constructing in need of some major repairs. But in line with the Browns, Matzorkis said he knew investors who can be willing to pay $500,000 each through the federal government's EB-5 visa program, which allows foreign nationals to get a U.S. visa in the event that they invest half 1,000,000 in a project that creates no less than 10 jobs.
The Browns accepted the offer. But three of the 4 investors needed for the $2 million renovation canceled, and the couple was forced to sell their Alameda home to finance the remaining $1.5 million needed to finish the project, they said. Matzorkis died in 2021.
“When we started, the Richmond city government was very friendly and helpful,” said Kevin Brown.
Riggers Loft Wine Company officially opened in 2016, signing a 20-year lease the previous yr that set a rent of $8,400. As a community taproom, the space offers visitors tastings from various winemakers, including their very own creations. Thanks to its large, open floor plan and views of the bay, the space quickly became a well-liked gathering place for community events, weddings and personal gatherings.
Debts are rising to worrying levels
Then the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and emergency orders were issued on the state and native levels.
Riggers Loft was forced to shut, however the owners thought the closure was only temporary. Concerned about keeping their business afloat, the Browns said they negotiated a cope with the town that may allow them to pay 1 / 4 of their monthly rent, with a promise to pay the remainder back inside six months of the emergency orders being lifted.
But because the months was years, the Browns' rent arrears grew to a worrisome amount. In 2022, the Browns began paying their full monthly rent, which rose to $10,300, they said.
But in line with the town's wrongful possession lawsuit filed in April in Contra Costa Superior Court, the Browns' rental problems date back to before the pandemic, when the 2 parties agreed to a payment plan for unpaid rent in 2018 and 2019. By the time Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the economic shutdown on March 2, 2020, Riggers was already $18,338 behind on rent, in line with court documents.
A changing waterfront?
The Browns claim the town is attempting to displace them to make room for brand spanking new projects on the waterfront, corresponding to offshore wind turbines. In their grievance, they cited comments made by Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez and Mayor Eduardo Martinez during a gathering on the problem on June 6.
“Nobody took into account the over $2 million we had invested in this place and all the attention we had gotten for Richmond,” Kevin Brown said. “They basically said, 'We don't care. We want this space, and we want it for this purpose, and we have a mechanism by which we can do that.'”
The city's management of the waterfront property is controversial. The city government was most recently confronted with a 2004 lease agreement that permits Orton Development to pay $1 annually to operate the Craneway Pavilion, a former Ford plant that was converted right into a vehicle assembly plant during World War II.
Much of the constructing's 4,180-square-foot interior space is now occupied by pickleball courts. In a second letter in April, the State Lands Commission said that this use was inconsistent with a trust agreement that requires the realm for use for overnight accommodations, restaurants and cafes, water-related industries, museums concerning the history of the waterfront, visitor retail and boat and ferry services.
A recent port management audit found that the port lacks adequate oversight and planning attributable to inadequate staffing and procedures, which lead to poor maintenance, poor financial management, missing lease documentation and inadequate monitoring of lease compliance.
At a city council meeting in April where the report was presented, Vice Mayor Jimenez said she was “really happy that this report is exposing all of these problems that we have.”
“It's not just about pointing fingers, it's about realizing that we need better oversight and protecting the port as an asset and not just giving it away for people to make money from,” she said.
Brown's lawsuit is scheduled to start evidentiary hearings soon, and court-ordered mediation should begin this summer. The city, meanwhile, is searching for a court judgment demanding immediate possession of the Canal Boulevard property, in addition to $285,845.25 in back rent, plus late fees and interest, and a declaration that Riggers “has no interest in the lease.”
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