Columbus officials will continue rent relief for six restaurants who are city tenants in The Commons.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission met in a special session Thursday and agreed to provide continuing rent abatement for six city tenants, Orange Leaf, Subway, Luciana’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, Bucceto’s Pizza and Pasta, Lucabe Coffee and the Garage Pub and Grill.
The redevelopment commission serves as landlord for the facilities.
“It will be a full abatement of rent for June and July and then a 75% abatement, which means they’ll be paying 25% of the current amount for the months of August, September, October, November and December,” said Sarah Cannon, commission president.
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In March, the commission approved a resolution to provide rent relief for the restaurant tenants for the months of April and May. Columbus Redevelopment Director Heather Pope explained that the decision to provide relief to these businesses was because of the commission’s role as their landlord, which is why other local businesses, who are not the commission’s tenants, did not receive the same type of relief.
“We’re not the landlord to everyone, fortunately or unfortunately,” Pope said. “But we were trying to do what we can to help the six tenants that we do have.” She added that if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 in the future, the commission will likely revisit this matter and consider the possibility of further relief.
Individuals from these six restaurants attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of their establishments’ need for further rent relief. While restaurants have been allowed by the state to reopen dining at 50% capacity as Indiana moves into the second stage or reopening, this has not necessarily offset losses caused by the shutdown, the owners said.
“The same time last year, we had $307,000 in sales over this two and a half month period versus $89,000 in sales,” said Debbie Westlake Bosworth, the operations manager for Luciana’s Mexican Restaurants. She also said that the costs of carryout dining added to the financial strain.
Luciana’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, Bucceto’s Pizza and Pasta, Lucabe Coffee and the Garage Pub and Grill all offered carryout during the pandemic and now are allowed to be open at 50 percent capacity for in-person dining — each has an exterior entrance for customers. Subway and Orange Leaf locations within The Commons do not have exterior entrances and have remain closed, Pope said.
City councilman-at-large Tom Dell also attended the meeting and stressed the importance of investing in these downtown businesses.
“They’re the type of tenants you want to keep,” he said. “This investment that you’re making in them … gives them the good fortune of being your tenants, being good tenants, but also giving them an opportunity for their businesses to grow.”
The meeting was held virtually. One commissioner, Al Roszczyk, was physically present in city hall, while others video-conferenced in. Pope, Dell and the business owners were also present in city hall.
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To watch livestream or archived meetings for the city of Columbus, visit columbus.in.gov and click on the video link.
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