Kent city officials closed the Scotch and Vine restaurant at the Riverbend Golf Complex after the owners failed to pay rent on the city-owned building.
The owners made only one of the required eight monthly payments since the restaurant opened in August, so the city terminated the lease and on Saturday shut down the business at 2019 W. Meeker St. A simple note on the door says the restaurant is closed.
“We tried to work with them,” said Julie Parascondola, city parks director, in a phone interview Tuesday, about owners David and Jill Pritchard. “But the golf course can’t sustain a loss. They are good people and they tried hard. …both sides are disappointed. But there were no payments and no profits. They were challenged from the start.”
The owners made one payment of $5,321 in November, according to the lease termination letter sent by the city to the Pritchards. They owe the city $30,588. David and Jill Pritchard did not return a voice mail for comment about the closure.
The City Council last year approved a five-year lease with one additional five-year option to renew for the couple, who took over the space that sat empty since Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub and Restaurant closed in June 2015. Mick Kelly’s had a five-year run. The city terminated that lease because the restaurant owed about $78,000 to the city in delinquent lease and utility payments.
The lease with Scotch and Vine required the owners to pay the city of 8 percent of gross monthly revenues, with a minimum of $5,000 per month and a maximum of $12,000. The first three months of the lease were free to help the restaurant get up and running, according to city officials.
Scotch and Vine, which opened in 2011 in downtown Des Moines, added the Kent location last summer but could never generate much business. The restaurant had hoped to open in May but didn’t get up and running until August. It had a grand opening in October. The menu featured steaks, chops, pastas, chicken and specialties. Beverages included Scotch labels, selections of bourbon, rye, Canadian and Irish whiskeys, wine and craft beer.
The city’s Riverbend Golf Complex includes an 18-hole course, a driving range, pro shop and a par 3 course. City officials agreed to sell the par 3 property to an apartment and retail developer and plan to use proceeds to pay for capital improvements at the 18-hole course. That sale is expected to go through later this year.
Meanwhile, the city plans to hire a consultant to study how to make the golf complex, including the restaurant, profitable.
“We need to rethink the business model,” said Parascondola, who the city hired in November to replace Jeff Watling after he left for a similar job with the city of Issaquah. “We need to make sure it’s a sustainable course.”
Parascondola estimates it will take six to eight months to complete the business planning. The city plans to hire a catering service to provide food and beverage at golf tournaments until another restaurant opens next year.
“I think it’s doable,” Parascondola said about finding a restaurant that can make a profit. “I’m not giving up. We just need the right fit.”
The parks director also has high hopes for the golf complex.
“It’s one of the best courses in South King County,” she said. “We need a business model that will bring a profit to the city and not a loss.”
She expects the development of nearly 500 apartments across the street from the 18-hole course could be a boost to business.
The city has had three restaurants close in the last seven years at Riverbend. Fire Creek Grill operated for about 10 years before it closed in February 2010.
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