Boss Hogg has given the eatery a final salute from the City / Chamber of Commerce signs at both ends of the City as though they are small town heroes who have perished an a valiant battle. The owners of the shopping center, Oxford Chase Management where the business has been located, who have invested millions of their own dollars in cold hard cash have a different story to tell.
They have worked hard to rehab an old crappy, derelict run down shopping center by investing in a complete face-lift and bringing two National businesses to Pocomoke City including Tractor Supply which just had its Grand opening last week. According to the owners the Grand opening of Dunkin Donuts was fouled by the smell of raw sewage leaking up from the sewer line shared with Traders. The blockage causing the Grand Opening stench was traced to Traders and the developers quickly had it cleared to spare their new tenant from further embarrassment.
I spoke with the developers yesterday who again stated that they had tried to work with Tony Trader and wanted to keep him as a tenant / customer. When I asked them "I have never known a real estate developer or investor who would want to get rid of a good tenant, did you really want to get rid of them?" There response was "why would we want to get rid of a good tenant? He had a lease that we honored when we bought the place and would have liked to have had them the rest of the term" They did state with their investment in captial improvements made to the once derelict shopping center that his rent would go up or they offered to move him to another unit at the same price.
Apparently Mr. Trader did not want to honor his end of the lease which called for maintenance and he refused to pay his share of having the sewer lines cleaned of what was obviously hardened chicken grease that fouled Dunkin Donughts Grand Opening event. Every home owner knows that you don't pour grease in your drain pipes because it will harden and they will clog, its not a matter of if but a matter of when. People who rent don't seem to care about pouring anything down the drain because its not their problem, not unless you read the fine print in a commercial lease written by professionals.
To make a long story longer they ended up in court and after two trials Judge Eschenburg ruled in favor of the developers. Settling a greasy contractual issue in Court is not cheap, simple or easy and most Judges are harder on the person who wrote the contract; than the person who signed the contract. It's just one of those things and in my opinion if there was any way that Judge Eschenburg could have let Tony Trader out of the contract or interpreted it so he was not responsible for maintenance and keeping his place the way he agreed to, then he would have ruled in favor of the Traders.
Tony Trader has been what I would almost call a lifetime member of the Pocomoke City Chamber of Commerce and has been active in a number of community events donating both time and money. As houseparents at the Samaritan Shelter years ago we remember that he not only donated leftover chicken but helped many people get back on their feet giving them a hand (not handout) with a job. Mr. Traders personal impact on the community has been a positive one and worthy of commendation.
To give the impression that he is being run out of his own business that people around town and the regional newspapers have implied is simply not the truth. The entire issue could have been settled by making a deal with the owners of the shopping center to either honor his contract and pay for the maintenance of the sewer lines. As a serial entrepreneur having dealt with developers and landlords since being a teenager I know for a fact that something could have been worked out, heck if it was me I would gotten them to split the cost or pay the majority amount then have one of my workers clean the outlet on a regular basis.
Instead he took them to court and lost, the Judge said he should pay for the maintenance and the lease that was voluntarily agreed to was valid and binding. So he appealed the decision and lost again with the Judge saying he owed money to the developers now, then Trader appealed that decision, but guess what? While the case was still awaiting a decision on the appeal he called in the Auctioneer.
There are a number of vacant buildings in Pocomoke City both downtown and on the highway that are available to relocate the business into *IF* the only issue was the big bad greedy real estate developers who wanted to squeeze the little guy for every last penny. I am totally for the little guy, the underdog, the guy who is fighting the good fight to save his family business or to keep Boss Hogg or Big Government off his back.
Reading comments in the paper and hearing people say they ought to get City Hall involved to do something to keep them there really ticks me off, but that's the Pocomoke mentality. If you can't keep your word about a business deal, then go to court twice and lose both times, then call in Boss Hogg and his henchmen to lean on them to get your way.
The developers are not local and they are not broke, heck they have invested easily two to three million dollars of their own cold hard cash into Pocomoke City. Boss Hogg does not have a picture of them with a goat and even if he did, they really don't care because business is business. Like they said in Thunder Dome "Bust a deal face the wheel..." the proof is in the pudding or in this case enough chicken fat to require two Roto Rooter trucks.
Look at this football sized chunk of solid chicken fat removed from the Traders sewer line yesterday afternoon and the business has been closed over a month. 28-years of grease and fat have been lining the sewer pipes of Pocomoke City creating a number of backups not only in the shopping center but all the way to the sewage treatment plant.
As a full time auctioneer for the past ten years there is one thing I have learned about small businesses; when they call in the auctioneer it's over. There is not going to be any relocation the owners are not going to continue in business anywhere, they want to be done and they want that last check for the goods.
The auctioneers prayer for rain has been answered and everything at Traders will go on the block today Wednesday December 17th at 11:00 with no minimums and no reserves to be sold to the last and final bidder regardless of price.
It's Pocomoke...
If you are a developer and you purchase property and then rent it out to a "restaurant" would you as the owner not be responsible to also provide legal code approved grease traps to this rental unit?
ReplyDeleteThe grease trap is there, and it was full and disgusting. Just didn't provide that picture.
ReplyDeleteOh, Then they failed to take care of the pumping and cleaning of the system. That would probably fall on the tenants shoulders.
ReplyDeleteThink about that grease in your body
ReplyDeletemost municipalities require the traps to ensure that the systems on the city right of way side stay clear of the grease.
ReplyDeletethink of it like your body.
your body is the development and that resturant is your mouth.
you cant blame your body for what your mouth takes in you blame your mouth for letting it into your system
"think abou tthat greas ein your body".....well, if you saw what goes into food processing and then in retail preparation , you might never eat again. :)
ReplyDeleteHowever,back to the pictures..a modern grease interceptor, properly maintained would never allow for such a build up in the line outside. That entire building was not in keeping with what was going on with the balance of the center.
Dover Products will put a 55 gallon barrel or multiple barrels if needed to store fat fry oil and they pick it up for free and make fuel and many other things from the waste.
ReplyDeleteI have been using their services so long I remember when they used to pay us for the old oil, wasn't much but hey they paid $15 a month to haul our garbage away and it didn't cause these problems. They no longer pay for it however they will provide storage, good location next to dumpster, and they do pick it up for free.
Also be noted that it would have cost a lot less for the city public works to have taken care of that instead of paying Roto Rooter out the nose, they aren't cheap.
4'00, Thats was more my point, any how its still one more American owned business down and 27 years is a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteIt seems he brought it on himself. No one else to blame. The food was not very good anyway
ReplyDeleteAuction was canceled today...
ReplyDeleteGod and Chicken, now thats funny. Unbelievable...
ReplyDeleteIt's always sad to see anyone close down there business.
ReplyDeleteIf there was anything of a business there that someone would want to own they could have sold it.
Grease traps are required in facilities such as this and its not the landlords job to keep them clean and operable.
With all the Biodiesel demand I don't know why they would not recycle the oil & grease.
As for the auction being cancelled this is the first I have heard of it, we had to go to Salisbury for a Doctors appointment at 11:00 then spent the rest of the afternoon doing a little Christmas shopping.
I am really surprised that the auction was cancelled unless nobody showed up.
"Look at this football sized chunk of solid chicken fat removed from the Traders sewer line yesterday afternoon and the business has been closed over a month. 28-years of grease and fat have been lining the sewer pipes of Pocomoke City....
ReplyDelete-----------
Been lining your coronary arteries as well ;-)
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteDover Products will put a 55 gallon barrel or multiple barrels if needed to store fat fry oil and they pick it up for free and make fuel and many other things from the waste.
4:19 PM
My ass, that oil is a commodity these days and restaurants are paying for this fat oil.
Great plug for your business. Good try though Dover Products ;-)
Joe, it's amazing how many people read your blogs from all over and then try to capitalize on free advertising. LMAO
I don't work for Dover products call them yourself moron
ReplyDeleteAlso this is a much bigger problem than you fathom. There are many restaurants that have been renovated in old buildings that also have no grease traps, so it goes right down the drain or into the dumpster and you don't have to be an environmentalist to know that is not a good thing to do. When you can have it disposed of for free, that's the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI don't work for Dover products call them yourself moron
9:19 AM
And ask them what Moron. You didn't sign your name or say who you are or where you work.
Until you do this we will still consider you an representative of Dover Products.
Call them and ask what they charge for storage and pickup idiot. Bite me. Where's your name posted?
ReplyDeleteI could give two rat's asses where you think I work, I looked for the number in the phone book. I can tell you're menatlly challanged so I looked myself, no go, maybe I'll get the number from an invoice at work. Ah your not worth the hassle I have much better things to do Dee Dee Dee
Joe you surely are beginning to get a plenty Dee Dee Dee's here lately, I guess since it's cold they skeert to go outside. Unemployment must be a bummer. Can't even feel sorry for an a-hole like that. Must be someone with several restaurants with no grease traps like I said at 9:41PM.
Start checking in those restaurants downtown that were converted from retail sales stores to a restaurant, were grease traps in those original plans 50 years ago, who would expect a restaurant there now? That needs to be addressed as a priority.
It's time for code and compliance to look into every restaurant checking for grease traps, no grease trap let the health department shut their asses down.