Will Pizza Hut continue to operate in Maywood Mart? Pizza Hut of America, LLC is trying to stay in its current location facing I-55N while landlord Maywood Mart Tei Equities, LLC is trying to terminate Pizza Hut's lease. Pizza Hut sued Maywood Mart in U.S. District Court on April 11.
Pizza Hut states that its lease does not expire until July 31, 2020. The annual rent is $29,186. However, the company complains in the complaint that Maywood Mart
contacted Pizza Hut repeatedly in recent months to try to persuade Pizza Hut to relinquish its rights under the lease.
11. On information and belief, Maywood Mart intends to redevelop the Shopping Center by demolishing and/or remodeling or reconstructing all or portions or the Shopping Center.
12. Maywood Mart also is seeking new tenants for the Shopping Center.
13. On information and belief, Maywood Mart is negotiating with a different potential tenant to
occupy the Leased Premises.
14. The terms of the lease that Maywood Mart is negotiating with the different potential tenant of the Leased Premises are more lucrative for Maywood Mart than the terms or the current Lease.
15. As part of its efforts to persuade Pizza Hut to relinquish its rights under the Lease, Maywood Mart has engaged in a variety of bad faith activities meant to disrupt Pizza Hut's business and force Pizza Hut to relinquish its rights under the Lease.
16. For example, Maywood Mart has intentionally demolished structures near or adjacent to the
Leased Premises in connection with its plan of redevelopment.
17. Also, Maywood Mart has intentionally engaged in construction activities to structures near or adjacent to the Leased Premises in connection with its plan of redevelopment.
18. During the activities described above, Maywood Mart intentionally impeded Pizza Hut's customer parking and customer access, within the Common Areas of the Shopping Center, to the Leased Premises.
19. Additionally, Maywood Mart has issued verbal and written offers to move Pizza Hut to a smaller retail space within the Shopping Center.
20. The smaller retail space Maywood Mart offered lo Pizza Hut was for a higher rental rate than what Pizza Hut currently pays for the Leased Premises.
21. The offers Maywood Mart made to Pizza Hut for the smaller retail space were made without sufficient compensation to Pizza Hut for its expenses associated with such a move and without sufficient compensation to cover Pizza Hut's lost business profits.
22. Maywood Mart's offers to Pizza Hut for smaller retail space were made in bad faith.
23. Pizza Hut has rejected Maywood Mart's offers for smaller retail space.
24. Pizza Hut has repeatedly advised Maywood Mart that Pizza Hut is not interested in terminating the Lease early, amending the Lease or otherwise surrendering the Leased Premises.
25. More recently, Maywood Mart engaged in a different bad faith tactic to persuade Pizza Hut to relinquish its rights under the Lease.
26. Maywood Mart sent Pizza Hut a letter (the "Termination Letter") on March 31,2016.
27. An accurate copy of the Termination Letter is attached as Exhibit B.
28. In the Termination Letterer, Maywood Mart's attorney claimed that "significant, ongoing structural movement" was causing damage to the Leased Premises.
29. Based on that allegation of "significant, ongoing structural movement," Maywood Mart stated
that it intended to exercise its right to terminate the Lease.
However, Pizza Hut argues that less than 25% of the property is damaged if any such damage occurred at all. Maywood Mart set the termination lease date on April 30. Pizza Hut also claimed that Maywood Mart notified Pizza Hut that it would send a contractor into the business on April 8 that would disrupt Pizza Hut's business.
Pizza Hut asked the court to declare the lease was still valid and prevent Maywood Mart from terminating the lease. Pizza Hut also asked for actual and punitive damages that were more than $75,000. Pizza Hut is represented by three lawyers from Lord Snow.
Maywood Mart replied to the complaint last month. Maywood Mart denied all of the allegations but blamed Yazoo Clay for causing the structural problems that forced the company to terminate the lease:
11. Denied as stated. Maywood Mart admits that structural damage caused by highly expansive Yazoo Clay has necessitated the reconstruction of significant portions of the Shopping Center, and that recent, current, and further shifting of highly expansive Yazoo Clay will necessitate further work in the future on other portions of the Shopping Center.
Maywood Mart also stated that it tried to mitigate Pizza Hut's losses:
made a written offer to Maywood Mart to relocate to the prime location within the Shopping Center at a rental rate higher than what it currently pays but also at a rental rate that is lower than the prime location’s market value leasable rate. Maywood Mart denies the remaining allegations contained in paragraph 20 of the Complaint.
Maywood Mart also filed a counterclaim for damages and asked the court to evict Pizza Hut from its current site. It claimed the shifting of the Yazoo Clay caused the slope of the roof to change so that water now "ponds" on the roof. It cited the collapse of the roof at Jackson Prep due to ponding of water as an example of what could happen if the alleged problem is not fixed. The counterclaim states that all of the rental spaces "north of Hibbet Sports" are affected by this "dangerous condition". Maywood claims the problem can only be fixes if those structures are demolished. Maywood Mart is represented by Adams & Reese.
Pizza Hut disputed those allegations in a response filed last week. The file is posted below.
48 comments:
Pepperoni Leases Matter.
Residents of the area should all pitch in and pay Pizza Hut to relocate to the other side of the interstate. Thank you Maywood Mart for upgrading. The residents are on your side. Please reach out to local leadership and let us know how we can help!
The residents are on your side.
Which resident(s) exactly do you anonymously pretend to represent?
I cannot see how the construction could have affected Pizza Hut. I am at or near Maywood Mart nearly everyday for one thing or another and the construction ( one is as far away in the center from Pizza Hut as one can get and the other is a remodel) has not inconvenienced me once. For God sakes, most of that Pizza Hut's business is delivery and the only "inconvenience" near the Pizza Hut is finding a parking place for McAllister's is when the Pizza Hut's delivery cars are parked at a bad angle and take up two spaces!
I'm with 6:49 am.
FYI to Maywood's owners: Don't mess with Beemon's or you'll lose your community support! We rely on their delivery and the great professional help we get from their pharmacists! We like their business model which is a rarity these days. It's putting the customer first!
What type of clientele does the Pizza Hut pull in? There's more to this story than the ever expanding waist lines of fat ass Mississippians. Wait, I mean the ever expanding Yazoo clay.
@7:22 a.m.
I think you mean "Papa John's"
With all your goings and comings in Maywood Mart, you should venture around the corner. Where Sportsman's Lodge/Islanders used to be is now going to be a PetCo, and Pizza Hut has been operating out of what looks like the side of a stationary work hut because of the construction.
These businesses make me vomit. They pressure renters in to long term lease contracts, then try to terminate them when something better comes along.
Just like when they kicked the Hardware store out to put a higher rent tenant in its place... The way they manage that place and their history of not hiring leases, one would think businesses would be afraid to lease from them with the fear they may be kicked out at anytime for any reason...
If it wasn't for McDades, I wouldn't ever go to Maywood Mart.
Why is this in federal court and not a local court?
...and the only "inconvenience" near the Pizza Hut is finding a parking place for McAllister's is when the Pizza Hut's delivery cars are parked at a bad angle and take up two spaces!
You are clueless.
They'll spend more in legal fees than all of Maywood Mart is worth with those firms and attorneys involved.
People still eat at Pizza Hut?
I see we have some bedwetters of our own. I've used that Pizza Hut location for years. The place is clean, the staff is always friendly, and the pizza is good for what it is, which is mass produced pizza for lack of a better phrase. It is also a great location for Pizza Hut.
As for the rest of the shopping center, I've used the Starbucks, Vitamin Shop, Nandy's Candy, McAlisters, and Honey Baked Hams many times over the years with no problems. Some of you people must freak out at the sight of your own shadow.
Maywood Mart has Pizza Hut, Papa John's and Lost Pizza. I guess they think that's too much pizza for one shopping center. Never mind who came first.
But I can see them wanting to get rid of some low class joint like Pizza Hut. I'm sure the higher class tenants like Dollar Tree, Cell Phone Repair, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Le Nails were complaining about the rabble that eats there.
I laugh every time I see a Madison county tag in the Whole Foods parking lot. JACKSON IS SO SCARY!!11!!1!1!!! ... Until you need some artisanal free range organic whatever.
The per square foot lease rate the Landlord is trying to charge is comparable to The Renaissance in Ridgeland. The Landlord forced the hardware store out by raising the rate to approximately $40.00 per square foot when it was time to renew the lease. I use Beemon Drugs and have since they opened and used the hardware store since Mr. Reddock open it over 55 years ago. Maywood is less than 200 yards from the highest crime area in Jackson. It's a neighborhood center, I wish they would keep it that way. GREED MAY WIN OUT THIS TIME !!!!!
Leave CPR alone.
They are doing the Lord's work in protecting us from Apple prices.
Well said Kingfish and I agree with you on doing business with all those you named.
The only thing I disagree with - is a bigbox PetCo going in a shopping center like Maywood Mart. Why didn't they try to acquire the old Best Buy on Ridgewood Court and why didn't the city try to steer them to rehab a retail property, instead of new construction!?
To the dip at 9:42... (with a BIG imagination)
That's a Jacksonian who moved their business up to Madison county. Company cars have to be tagged where the business is.
Once again you are our best unpaid reporter Kingfish! Sam R Hall just gave the greenlight after reading our morning monitoring report to run this as our own work without mentioning your efforts. Thanks.
I'm with 8:38. McDade's is the only reason I go to Maywood Mart.
@9:47 - PetSmart is right across the highway from Ridgewood Court. I guess they didn't want two big box pet stores within spitting distance of each other. That having been said, when HQ (remember them?) occupied that space, no one cried when Home Depot opened across the highway and effectively killed them.
I thought that was going to be a "Moe's" right there??? Either way, Pizza Hut was really treated bad here but the construction activities of the developer / property manager. I prefer the Domino's across the way, but there is no denying that Pizza Hut has been grossly mis-treated as a paying tenant.
I can't decide which parking is worse? McDade's at Maywood Mart or McDade's in Fondren?
@ 11:30 am
McDade's at Maywood Mart parking is worse. But glad to have it in Jackson. Love seeing the Rankin and Madison County tags early Saturday and Sunday mornings ;-)
I miss Sunflower, Be-Bop, Bon Ami, Blockbuster & Deposit Guaranty.
3 lawyers on a lease breach? That cost about $15,000 to draft the complaint.
Wait til BS starts prying into what MM did to other leasees here and at other sites controlled by the parent company.
This should never have happened.
There is an old steak out location just north of Maywood. Landlord should buy it, fix it up, and lease to Pizza Hut.
As a side note....with all the doom and gloom in Jackson...who would have thought people would be fighting to stay?
As an avid Pizza Friday-er, I can attest that this Pizza Hut location kills it on those Fridays we decide to get mass produced pizza hut pizza.
Everyone posting here needs a geography lesson.
1. PetsMart is not right across the highway from the new proposed site for PetCo. It's more than 3 miles south of PetsMart.
2. Pizza Hut is to the right of the new PetCo site (where Islanders/Sportsman's Lodge used to be)
3. Papa John's is in the freestanding building on the southeast corner of Maywood Mart - to the right of McAlister's.
The new out-of-state ownership couldn't care less about the local community. They have raised the rents to pad their profits and won't even repave the parking lot. They have driven out the yogurt lunch place, the Greek lunch place, the photography store, and worst of all the Ace Hardware. Now they want to "anchor" the development with a pet store?! At least the new Highland Village owners spruced up the place and back-filled family businesses with "up-scale" tenants...
I miss The Emporium, Kings Inn, Creative Crafts and Hobbies, The Little Red Hen, Medley's Ice Cream, Pennington's Shoes (with the octopus and the caterpillar seats), and Senji's.
Can anyone go back further than that?
Hmm. On one hand, you have people say that NOTHING new comes to Jackson, and yet in the same vein they complain when it does.
Was this same uproar there when Sam's Club moved out of Jackson? Only in the cheering section.
In 50 years, there's going to be "Madison Jambalaya" and they are going to complain about everything moving out of Madison--or cheering it on.
@12:26 - since we're really going back, you had Ben Franklin 5&10, Person's Men's Store(formerly Brady and Persons), O. K. Batte Cleaners, and Houck's children's clothing store.
To the dumbass at 12:18, no one said Petsmart is across the highway from the proposed Petco. It was said that it's right across the highway from the old Best Buy, which is maybe why Petco wasn't placed there.
Before you give more bush league herp derp geography lessons, learn to read properly, dingleberry.
And I thought Ben Franklin was in Highland Village, next to the A&P.
@12:02pm I somehow doubt your little slice of Madison/Rankin at McDade's (or the whole Maywood Mart for that matter) holds a percentage of the tax dollars Madison sees at the Sams, Dicks, or Best Buy from Hinds. For that matter the Madison Walmart is full of Hinds shoppers and they have one closer on County Line. And they're not white Hinds citizens either on a whole out here.
And to show you how Jackson and Hinds work together, I have an excellent real time case study. Where I work, the City of Jackson came through with their big bad pothole machine a couple of weeks ago to fix around 10 to 20 pot holes. Well what did I find this morning turning into work? Why it was Hinds County crews milling the street for a full repave! No one coordinates, no one communicates. Wasted tax dollars and 20 potholes that could have been paved elsewhere in Jackson.
1:51 - It was Morgan & Lindsey that was in HV next to the A&P.
@2:00pm - You are correct, it was Morgan & Lindsay in Highland Village back when HV was M&L, A&P, Deposit Guaranty and a gas station. I remember the Ben Franklin next to the McRae's on Meadowbrook, but not the one in Maywood Mart.
back when HV was M&L, A&P, Deposit Guaranty and a gas station.
Oops! It was a First National branch. Deposit Guaranty was across the street. My bad.
The Trustmark Branch in Highland Village still has the First National logo on the safe deposit door.
I miss Seal-Lilly behind Triangle Mart. Their chocolate malts were the crack cocaine of the 60's. Bob Neblett got me hooked, him and Ready Kilowatt.
Ah, for some Little Red Hen and some Seale-Lilly. Anyone remember the 10 pm Saturday night Sunflower drawing with JoAnn?
Pasquales was next to?
Pasquale's was next to El Burrito and there was a door inside connecting them. I believe a married couple owned them and he ran one while she ran the other.
Kingfish it's a shame you frequent a Starbucks. Buy local coffee Cups, Sneaky Beans, and M7 are all wonderful places.
"I remember the Ben Franklin next to the McRae's on Meadowbrook, but not the one in Maywood Mart".
I used to go to the Ben Franklin in Meadowbrook and buy 10 cents worth of choc covered peanuts. If the owner’s daughter was working, I would flirt with her and she would give me a double scoop. I think her name was Nancy, pretty girl.
I miss KATMANDU'S, THR DUTCH BAR & BENNIGAN'S
Both Maywood and Highland Village are now owned by groups "not from around here" and do not care about locals. I miss my hardware store!
It's hard to pick up broads in a hardware store. Shakey's was the bomb and the Cherokee in both locations smelled like camel shit. I still use The Rotisserie's Comeback Sauce but can't find the door to Ruth's Chris next to McRaes in the Mall. Bands played out in the field in front of what is now the Children's Museum long before the cops could sniff out weed. Curb Feelers and Glass Packs are the stuff of dreams.
Kingfish it's a shame you frequent a Starbucks.
Local humans work in Starbucks......cut them some slack.
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