Alamo Drafthouse Park North’s Landlords Sue Theater Over Unpaid Rent During the Pandemic
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Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is being sued by the landlord of its Park North Shopping Center location for months of unpaid rent, MySA reports.
According to the online news site, a company affiliated with Sterling Organization, a private equity real estate firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida, filed suit last month, seeking $660,000 in back rent from April to August.
The Austin-based chain closed its theaters in mid-March due to the pandemic. The Park North location is slated to reopen later this month, MySA reports.
“They can’t pay rent if they have no revenue,” Atlanta attorney David Marmins, who represents the Alamo Drafthouse, told the website.
“They’re negotiating and they’re offering to do a lot of things short of not paying anything, but they haven’t been able to reach a deal with this landlord.”
While the suit alleges the unpaid rent represents a default under the theater’s lease, the landlord isn’t trying to terminate the lease and evict the Alamo Drafthouse.
“We want to see the tenant be successful — we want to see the tenant operate, transact business and pay their rent,” John D. Fraser, a Plano lawyer representing the landlord, told MySA. “We’re trying not to end the relationship. We’re trying to bring them to the terms of the lease.”
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