Tutta Pasta Owner And Building Landlord Lock Horns Over Closed Restaurant
The story doesn’t have the gravitas of a Puccini opera, however the players in this tale are singing arias that have created quite a drama.
The landlord versus owner kind of drama. And their stories are in extreme opposition.
The setting is 160 7th Avenue (between 1st Street and Garfield Place) — the former Park Slope home of the Italian restaurant Tutta Pasta.
Martino Pisani is still the owner of the new Tutta Pasta, which has relocated to 277 Gold Street (near Tillary Street) in downtown Brooklyn. Pisani opened up there in earlier December. “It’s a larger space, and we have parking,” he says.
But Pisani misses the neighborhood. “I want to thank the community of Park Slope for all the support over the ten years we’ve been on 7th Avenue,” he says. He tells us the restaurant left 7th Avenue on November 10.
Pisani tells us the landlord is guilty of negligence of the space — including the refusal to repair major flood damage in the basement. He also tells us that the landlord failed to present a Certificate of Occupancy, which caused repeated issues with building inspectors.
The Department of Buildings website shows roughly 45 violations between 1993-2011, all which have been dismissed. However a Certificate of Occupancy does appear — dated March 18, 1981.
We had a chance to discuss the situation with Leon, the landlord whose phone number was given to us by Pisani. When we spoke with Leon, he would not provide his last name, nor confirm the name of the landlord company. “I will have my lawyer call you to give you all that information,” he said. We have not heard from a lawyer for confirmation.
Pisani also told us the company is named Gavriel Plaza LLC. The company does not have a website, but appears in corporate listing directories.
Leon tells us that he has been to court with Pisani several times over what he describes as the owner’s failure to pay the rent. “He was the one responsible for the flooding in the basement because he was negligent. He couldn’t afford the rent. He even offered to give me his diamond ring for rent. I can show you. I have the text messages.”
As of now, Leon has not provided evidence of the text messages.
Exactly a year ago, we reported that the Tutta Pasta space was up for rent. The listing on Loop Net – which is still posted — notes the price is negotiable, and includes seating for 140 plus a cafe permit for an additional 14 seats, a full liquor license, and a basement.
According to Tutta Pasta owner Martino Pisani, the landlord was not willing to negotiate the rent. “They were charging me $18,000 per month. They did this to try to throw me out,” he says.
Both Pisani and Leon do agree that they’ve been to court many times. “I didn’t want to give you the name of the landlord until I fully moved everything out of the restaurant,” says Pisani. “I didn’t know what they’d do if you contacted them and I still had my things there.”
The former Tutta Pasta restaurant currently sits empty and Leon would not confirm if they had a new renter coming in. But one thing we do know — it’s been a tremendously stressful scenario.
“It was a constant struggle to survive there,” says Pisani. “When a neighborhood sees a ‘B’ or ‘C’ grade on your business, they think it’s mice. It wasn’t that. I tell you. It wasn’t that.”