Sacramento Hot Chicken Restaurant Accused of Breaching its Lease

April 13, 2023

Chicken eatery Nash & Proper is being sued by its former landlord, who alleges the restaurant breached its lease and damaged the property. That landlord is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from the restaurant, which is known for its hot chicken.

Earlier this year, co-owner Cecil Rhodes II said Nash & Proper was looking to scale back its footprint to focus on other areas of the business. Nash & Proper operates a food truck business and has a restaurant in Downtown Sacramento, CA. The company also has a presence in locations of micro food hall Local Kitchens and at a ghost kitchen near California State University Sacramento.

Nash & Proper opened its Elk Grove restaurant in 2021. In a lawsuit filed March 29 in Sacramento County Superior Court, landlord HyperReal LLC alleges the restaurant left the Elk Grove site on or around March 2, without notifying the landlord and without paying money owed under the lease. In the complaint, the landlord says Nash & Proper agreed to pay an initial base rent of $4,740 per month, beginning June 15, 2021, with annual 4% increases. The lease term was seven years and three months, according to the complaint.

The landlord alleges Nash & Proper did not pay rent on time from October 2022 through March 2023. The complaint also alleges Nash & Proper did not pay rent in February and March of 2023. In addition, the lawsuit alleges the defendants damaged the front and rear doors of the Elk Grove property, and took equipment allegedly belonging to the plaintiff.

According to news sources, the landlord is seeking damages of $374,278, plus interest. That amount includes unpaid rent, late fees, future rent, repair costs and equipment, according to the complaint. The landlord is also seeking damages of $225,000, plus interest, for the alleged breach of the guarantee. The complaint seeks legal fees and other relief deemed proper by the court as well.

Hot chicken—and an even hotter stress-filled breach of lease case. No big surprise because disputes like this one can be found EVERYWHERE. And when those things negatively impact YOU and/or YOUR business including bankruptcies, landlord/tenant matters including unlawful detainers, contract issues, nuisance ADA claims and even collections, call in your good guy business litigator, Dean Sperling to resolve YOUR matter with YOUR best interests in mind!

More on the case:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2023/04/10/nash-proper-restaurant-lawsuit-elk-grove.html