Rib Shack closes abruptly, but owners vow to find new location
Their baby-back pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, Southern-style collard greens, and five-bean chuck-wagon beans were beloved by those who enjoyed the food. But the location of The Rib Shack on Ellicott Street Road proved too difficult, so the owners have pulled up stakes and are looking for a new location, said co-owner Melissa Penders.
The lack of a lunch crowd in an isolated location hurt cash flow, Penders said, but part of the decision to close was landlord due to difficulties.
The landlord is Rosemary Christian. Jim and Melissa Penders claim she illegally evicted them.
Melissa Penders said she will be happy to meet Christian in court because she has all the cancelled rent checks. She said Christian is claiming they owe "a ridiculous amount of money," but that all of the rent was paid.
Christian said she doesn't care what Penders has to show in court, the restaurant owners owed her money.
Over the weekend, all the signs came down and on Monday the Penders tried to remove the rest of their equipment, Penders said.
Christian called the Sheriff's Office, Penders said, and Christian confirmed that local law enforcement responded.
"They were robbing me blind," Christian said.
Christian claims the building was left in "a mess." Penders said Christian wouldn't allow her inside the building to complete a final clean-up.
Penders said Christian was pushing them to sign a new lease, but they didn't want to commit to being in that location for another year, both because of the lunch-crowd issue and because she didn't want to deal with Christian for another year.
"Rosemary is very difficult to deal with," Penders said.
She said Christian presented them with an ultimatum to either sign a lease or get out, they chose to get out. As they were on their way out the door, Christian issued an eviction notice.
Christian said there was no demand to sign a lease or close. This was nothing but an eviction, she said.
Meanwhile, Jim and Melissa are looking for a new location and running their catering business out of their home, getting their kitchen upgraded to commercial and health department standards. All of their obligations for weddings and graduations and other events will be met, she said.
NOTE: Deal of the Day buyers, Melissa Penders said if you hold on to your gift certificates, they will be honored with the restaurant reopens. The expiration date will be honored. They are also good toward catering services. However, per The Batavian's policy, if you purchased your gift certificate within the past 30 days, we'll refund your money. Mail the gift certificate back to The Batavian, 200 E. Main St., #5, Batavia, NY 14020. If you elect to hold onto your gift certificate, e-mail howard@thebatavian.com and we'll send you a coupon code for a free ad posting on Batavia's List.
