Hopes that a real estate investor who quietly purchased several properties on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights had only the best intentions to revitalize the area appear to have been dashed.
We now learn that the various shell companies previously associated with 39-year-old venture capitalist Neil Mehta, which acquired the defunct Clay Theater, among other things, are beginning to send eviction notices and warnings to some of the long-established businesses in the 2200 block of Fillmore.
These include La Mediterranee, a 45-year-old restaurant that received legacy status from the city in 2019, and Ten-Ichi, a 46-year-old Japanese restaurant run by the children of its original founders, who came to the city as Japanese immigrants.
As the Chronicle reports today, Ten-Ichi owner Steve Amano says the sale of his restaurant’s building is still in escrow and the new owner, a company called Great Stage LLC, is asking them to vacate the building by next month. Amano told the newspaper he knew from his landlord that the sale was in process, but he simply expected the new owner to try to raise his rent.
As Amano told the Chronicle, “We’ve been here for 46 years. This is the opposite of what San Francisco does with long-term, traditional commercial tenants. This guy is pushing us out.”
La Mediterranee was also reportedly told that it would have to vacate its premises across the street at 2210 Fillmore Street when its current minimum lease expires.
It’s not clear how many buildings Mehta and his shell companies currently own. In April, The Information linked Mehta to six recently sold buildings in the area, including the Clay Theater. These were mostly in the 2200 block of Fillmore, but all within a three-block radius, and the buildings sold for higher than expected amounts.
The report included information from a source that Mehta plans to spend “tens of millions” of dollars to put together a portfolio on the street.
And according to a Chronicle source, Mehta plans to “increase the quality of retail in the upper Fillmore area” and revive the historic Clay Theater “as a high-end theater and dining concept.” Would that be comparable to an Alamo Drafthouse? Or even more upscale?
In any case, it is sad that companies with a five-decade-old tradition are being pushed out of the market, and we do not yet know what these “upscale” offerings will look like in the future.
Mehta has so far declined to comment on his plans, and his agent for the project, reportedly nightlife, entertainment and real estate entrepreneur Cody Allen, has also not commented.
Previously: Mysterious buyer who bought nearly a block of Fillmore Street – including the defunct Clay Theater – may be identified
Photo via Yelp
