We did not want to go to court. Before we filed anything, we spent months trying to resolve the exclusivity violations directly and quietly. The record shows it.

When we signed our lease in December 2023, we needed one assurance before we could commit to the investment: that no competing food or beverage operation would open in the same plaza. A restaurant only works if it can build a loyal customer base — and that's not possible when a competing concept can open in the same building. Black Crow understood that, and Special Stipulation 4 was written into our lease.

We also proposed a carve-out protecting Polar Bear Ice Cream & Coffee — the tenant already in the plaza — so they could continue operating exactly as they always had. We wanted to be good neighbors, and we wanted them to stay.

In 2025, Polar Bear sold its operations to Because Coffee Ten, who began converting the space into a full restaurant and coffee operation — well beyond what the Polar Bear carve-out covered.

How we responded

Our first response was not legal action. We reached out to try to find a solution.

• June 27, 2025: Emailed Coffee Ten directly — welcoming them to the plaza and making them aware of Special Stipulation 4 and its implications for their planned operation. View email →
• June–August 2025: Made multiple requests for a meeting with Black Crow and Coffee Ten so we could work something out together. View meeting request →
• August 25, 2025: Sent a formal letter to Black Crow requesting they take action to enforce the lease — our meetings requests had not been answered. View letter →  View transmittal email →
• August–November 2025: Continued to request a meeting. Made a total of five documented attempts. View 5th attempt →
• November 7, 2025: Reached out to Coffee Ten one final time before taking legal action.

What happened next

November 10: Black Crow's response, after five months of unanswered meeting requests, was not to enforce the lease — it was to ask us to waive our exclusive rights entirely. View letter → We couldn't agree to that. Special Stipulation 4 was not a negotiating position — it was the basis of the lease itself.

November 14: Four days after we declined their waiver request, Black Crow sent us a notice of breach.

November 17: Coffee Ten's owner responded in writing. He acknowledged that their operation conflicted with our lease — and stated they intended to open regardless. View letter →

November 17: We filed our initial complaint with the court. We had spent five months trying to avoid that outcome.