[
East 2nd Street side of the dormant Pride and Joy BBQ site]
There's yet another legal battle involving the yet-to-open Pride and Joy BBQ on First Avenue.
Celebrity BBQ chef Myron Mixon was going to open a restaurant/saloon in the former Lucky Cheng's space. (Read that post
here.) But
a subsequent lawsuit between Mixon and his partners put the debut in doubt.
However, his remaining partners
decided to move forward with a 220-seat "draft house" and "honky tonk" featuring three bars and about 20 TV screens,
per DNAinfo. (The SLA approved a liquor license for the space with a 4 a.m. closing time in October.)
Now,
as Serena Solomon first reported last week at DNAinfo, the owners of Pride and Joy BBQ are suing building landlord Hayne Suthon for allegedly lying about the building's condition and then attempting to evict them from the location for demanding repairs. The BBQ group is seeking $22 million in damages.
Per DNAinfo:
Pride and Joy BBQ, which has an operating location in Miami, ... has so far invested $3.1 million in the space, including renovations, repairs and $600,000 in rent, according to court documents.
When fitting out the space, Pride and Joy BBQ discovered "almost too many structural deficiencies to count, and the extent of the problem was vast," according to legal documents.
The lawsuit lists issues such as termite infestation, deteriorating structural frames and a leaking roof and walls.
Pride and Joy BBQ recently stopped paying its rent while attempting to broker a deal on the repair costs with Suthon, which prompted Suthon to threaten to evict the restaurant, according to documents.
Suthon, who has lived at the address, 24 First Ave. since 1989, denied the allegations. She moved Lucky Cheng's to West 52nd Street
in the fall of 2012.
The lawsuit seems a little …
weird.
As we wrote before, the space was
seemingly ready for BBQ action, after crews previously gut-renovated away
the former Bento Burger and Lucky Cheng's. There was even a preview event here with Mixon back in May… which prompted the
one Yelp review, a four-star affair in which the author stated: "The pork belly mac and cheese was equally exquisite. I can imaging filling a large, clean tub with this delightful concoction and then diving in and eating my way out."
And what about the giant rotisserie that workers installed in early 2013? There was even a press event for it… (No one noticed "deteriorating structural frames" then?)
Despite the opening preview party,
workers gutted the space down to nothing in the fall. If the restaurant was good to go last May, then why did the remaining partners decide to rip everything down to the bare walls and floor?
Previously on EV Grieve:
Myron Mixon's Pride & Joy BBQ now in the works for the former Lucky Cheng's space
Fire reported at incoming Pride and Joy BBQ on East Second Street
Myron Mixon lawsuit puts opening of Pride and Joy BBQ in question at former Lucky Cheng's space
More alterations for the Pride and Joy space