Shot in the Dark Cafe, at 121 E. Broadway, closed after serving the downtown area for 14 years.
Shot in the Dark Cafe closed in January after more than 14 years in business.
Pam Lopez, one of the restaurant’s 10 employee owners, said they were notified on Jan. 1 that they had until the end of the month to leave the space, despite renewing their lease in September 2018. The letter from Pam Keiser, who represents the trust that owns the building, said the lease was canceled.
Lopez said the group renewed the lease in September and agreed to rent hikes that took their rate from $1,100 a month to $4,400.
Keiser said the group of employees that owns and operates the restaurant has never really had a lease. The decision to evict came following a visit in fall of 2018, soon after the cafe failed a Pima County health inspection.
In a Facebook posting, the restaurant’s owners said they were being squeezed out as part of the gentrification of downtown that has forced several neighboring businesses to close.
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