Cook’s Fresh Market will stay open at 1600 Glenarm Place despite a dispute with the building’s landlord, who attempted to terminate the lease.
A Denver District Court judge issued a judgment today in favor of JanJan Inc., the corporate name for Cook’s Fresh owner Ed Janos, who sued Glenarm Residential LLC, the company represented by landlord RedPeak Properties, for what JanJan believed to be a breach of contract of the lease.
“The judge agreed with us that Glenarm Residential does not have the right to terminate our lease,” Janos said. “We’re happy, ecstatic, and looking forward to another 15 years in downtown Denver. It’s a happy day at Cook’s Fresh Market and in the Janos house.”
Neither Mike Zoellner, RedPeak’s representative, nor his lawyer Paul Lopach of Bryan Cave HRO could be reached for comment.
The legal food fight emanated from a disagreement between the two parties over Glenarm Residential’s right to terminate the lease because, among other allegations, the grocer didn’t fulfill a fourth-year requirement to produce a minimum of $2 million in sales.
Janos claimed he was leased the space by Glenarm Residential at a rate that was significantly under market value in exchange for the store to be used as a carrot to lure renters to the 300-plus units above Cook’s Fresh, an assertion Glenarm Residential denied.
To emphasize its assumption that it had the right to reclaim the place, Glenarm Residential hired a commercial real estate broker to market the 5,300-square-foot space as a restaurant site for lease at $45 per square foot, a significantly higher lease rate than what Janos said he was paying.
The judge found Glenarm Residential’s attempt to terminate was invalid, and that the landlord breached the lease in raising Janos’ rental rate. Glenarm Residential has the right to appeal the judgment.
