Cassidy Turley sues to evict restaurant from Tower Place Mall

As sparse as customer traffic has been at Tower Place Mall in downtown Cincinnati, it could get sparser.

Cassidy Turley, the court-appointed receiver for the largely vacant Fourth Street shopping venue, is suing to evict a Hamilton-based franchisee of Great Steak & Potato Co. for alleged failure to pay its rent.

The restaurant has occupied space in the mall’s food court since 1992.

Cassidy Turley said in its Oct. 26 complaint that it served a notice of default on Nicar Enterprises Inc. of Hamilton on Sept. 21 and that Nicar had not cured its default. Then it failed to vacate the mall after being served with a notice to leave the premises on Oct. 16, according to the complaint filed in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.

Cassidy Turley is seeking a court order to recover the premises and an award of $63,581 it claims it’s owed in back rent, plus interest.

According to a copy of a 2010 amendment to its lease that was filed with the lawsuit, Nicar agreed to pay $4,375 a month in rent for 1,301 square feet in the food court.

The initial three-year lease signed in 1991 called for annual rent of $51,795 plus 8 percent of gross sales.

Officials at Nicar were not immediately available for comment.

Great Steak & Potato Co. has five locations in Greater Cincinnati according to its website, including Tower Place Mall.

Cassidy Turley’s complaint was filed by Cincinnati lawyer Danielle Lorenz at Reminger Co.