- April 24, 2024
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Landlord: Deli owners owe $30,000 in rent
Ed and Grace Tutak had big plans. They wanted to resurrect Best Bagels & Deli, the popular lunch destination that abruptly closed in Palm Coast earlier this month, and rehire people who lost their jobs in time for Christmas.
But according to Property Manager Rob Robinson, Best Bagels owners Alan and Karyn Phillips are five months overdue on the rent, have defaulted on the lease and owe $30,000. In addition, all of the equipment — warmers, counters, industrial oven — has been removed and possibly auctioned off, leaving the place gutted, with trash on the floor and half-used condiment bottles in the window.
Robinson said the Phillipses’ attorney informed him he would be trespassing if he tries to show the property. And so, Robinson said, there is no way for the property owner to find someone — the Tutaks, or anyone else — to take over the lease. And, that means the Phillipses are still on the hook through 2017.
“We were going to have it going by now,” Grace Tutak said.
“The Tutaks knew people who worked here,” Robinson said. “It was a win-win for everybody. Employees would have their jobs. The Tutaks would have a new business. And the Phillipses would have had an end to their liability.”
But Karyn Phillips said she and her husband, Alan, are being unfairly criticized for closing the store simply due to high overhead and a poor economy, and she denies any wrongdoing.
“The grave’s not even cold, and people are picking,” Phillips said. “We’re a local family that couldn’t make it in Palm Coast. … We’re the victims here.”
She added: “In New York, we lived in a small town of 17,000 people. Our bagel deli saw 500 people a day. Here, we live in Palm Coast, with 70,000 people, and we have 300 people coming in a day. … Our food is high quality and fresh, so our costs are high.”
Regardless, the Tutaks, who said they were going to name the place Say Grace Bagels and Deli, are now left in a holding pattern, and many of the former Best Bagels employees say they are still waiting to be paid for their last week of work.
The whole building, which is across from the Palm Coast Post Office, is owned by Palm Coast Properties LLC. Robinson said that before the deli left, 16 of 20 storefronts were full, in large part thanks to considerations made by the property owners.
But, that hasn’t solved the problems for the tenants who were relying on the foot traffic created by Best Bagels.
Rachel Ross, who co-owns Sweets Boutique next door to Best Bagels, said she and her mother, Co-owner Ginnie Mercer, chose their location because of the deli.
“It’s like night and day,” Ross said. “We had 300 people walk by our store every day. … Since they left, it’s been a nightmare, not just for us, but for everyone in the plaza.”
LIFE AFTER BEST BAGELS ...
Scoops sees 400% jump
The weekend after Best Bagels & Deli closed, Dec. 5, Mark Tsistinas, owner of Scoops Café at 1475 Palm Coast Parkway, sold about 40 dozen bagels, which is about 32 dozen more than usual. Lunch items boosted, as well. Ice cream sales stayed relatively consistent.
Overall, Scoops’ business revenue increased 400%.
“So we were smiling,” Tsistinas said.
For most of that week, Tsistinas stood in front of the Best Bagels location and handed out menus. Unaware of its closing, patrons would come by Best Bagels for breakfast or lunch to find a vacancy, and then they’d meet Tsistinas, who’d direct them to his deli down the street.
And he was sure to tell each one that Scoops is now the only place in Palm Coast that makes its own bagels fresh daily.
“We’re up at 3 a.m. every single day (making bagels),” Tsistinas said. Now, the shop is even open Sundays, which it never previously had the volume to support. After selling almost 500 bagels Dec. 11, though, Sunday is officially on the schedule.
Soon, Tsistinas hopes to bring a full-time baker on staff, as well as a few part-timers. Call 283-4918.
— Mike Cavaliere
