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Cafaro landlords sue for lease payments

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Two landlords representing the Cafaro Co. are suing a North Carolina restaurant chain for violating its lease agreements at Cafaro properties in St. Clairsville and in Bridgeport, W.Va.

Both the Ohio Valley Mall Co. and the Meadowbrook Mall Co. are plaintiffs in separate lawsuits filed Nov. 20 against the company doing business as Garfield’s Restaurant and Pub of Mooresville, N.C. The suits will be heard by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judges Peter J. Kontos and Ronald J. Rice, respectively.

The defendant GRP, or Garfield’s Restaurant and Pub, is accused in the lawsuit of failing to pay Cafaro lease charges totaling $88,834 for its St. Clairsville mall location and charges totaling $119,239 at Cafaro’s Meadowbrook Mall property in West Virginia.

The charges include rental payments, finance charges, extended lighting, fire alarm inspection, storm sewer and trash removal payments, the lawsuits state.

In each lawsuit, the Cafaro landlords ask the judges to assess an 18 percent interest charge to add on to the debt.

According to its social media page, Garfield’s is a casual, family-friendly, full service restaurant and pub that opened its first location in 1984 and offers a full and diverse menu. According to the website, Garfield’s has six locations: St. Clairsville; Bridgeport, W.Va.; Branson, Mo.; Reidsville, N.C.; Selinsgrove, Pa.; and Washington, Pa.

Attempts to reach one of Garfield’s attorneys for comment have not been successful.

The Cafaro Co. is headquartered in Niles, Ohio, and operates the Eastwood Mall there.

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