Christine Whelan FEO, February 15, 2024, VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Les Lakewood, owner of Little Red Coffee & Catering on 46 Queen Street in Fort Erie says there’s always a risk to opening a business. He also says there are good reasons why a property owner in that business has to raise the rent to make their own money.

That doesn’t mean that when that commercial tenant gets the squeeze, the tenant can’t squeeze back, finding an amicable way to move forward.

In Les’ case, his building was sold during his lease. The new owner’s mortgage was doubled.

“My lease being the only commercial lease in a building of residential leases, I’m the only one he could go after.”

He explained, “The commercial leaser doesn’t have any protection around how much their rent can be raised. And bank rates have gone up for people. The property owner needs to make sure he or she is not losing money. So, a commercial tenant is particularly prey because there’s no protection.”

He added, “There’s no 90-day conversation. At the end of a commercial lease, there can be a 0-day notice.”

As a result, the property owner presented Les with a 40% rent increase.

His initial thoughts were, “Well then, I’ll just close my business down. I can’t afford that.”

But through his experience, the business owner realized, “Just because a landlord comes at you with a 40% rent increase doesn’t mean, at the end of the day, this is what you should accept. Negotiations have to start somewhere and he clearly started high.”

Doing the Research

Les began to dig in. “So, I wanted to make sure that I knew everything I needed to. I learned what I needed to know about a commercial lease. I learned about some of the limitations on what this particular building can be used for, the legal limitations as far as density goes.”

He remarked that knowing a realtor, one who is willing to give their insights is helpful.

Lakewood found out, that a landlord can’t just threaten to put in, for example, a bunch of students because there’s a new college coming into town.

He says his building is not a high-density building so that could not be an option for his building. “Knowing this information gave me some power.”

Les advises anyone looking into renting for commercial use to do the research. “Know what the town requires of property owners. Know what you’re legally entitled to. If it’s commercial property, not that much. So, know what other avenues are available to you.”

Negotiations

“Every time I came up with why I can’t pay that much, he brought it down a little bit more until we got to where it was reasonable and what I kind of expected.”

Both parties were able to stay focused on the best possible solution and, “At the end of the day, not only did we shake hands but he gave me a hug.”

Not all landlords are the same, Les admits. He is grateful that a peaceful solution with mutual benefits looking forward was found.

“He wants to work together and he knows that being someone from out of town, he needs somebody here to make sure his building prospers,” Lakewood said. “He didn’t want me to leave.” He did want to see, however, how much he could get.

Looking to Make it Prosper

The building has two big bay windows in front. The Little Red Coffee occupies the one side.

Les says both he and his landlord would like to see the commercial community continue to grow in the south end. “What we both want to see is the opening of another complimentary business on the other side that is community-minded and wants to invest in the area.”

The cafe owner affirmed it’s a great location. “We’re an established business. Whether it’s a pop-up shop or somebody who wants to set up permanently, we would be able to help them get started. I have the lease and the business and a pop-up shop doesn’t need to go through the whole business permit application through the Town.”

A pop-up shop typically is a service provider, retailer, or merchandiser who has their own business and rents space within another business, according to Les. “It could be short-term or long-term.”

He talked about how the south end has so much potential to be its own community, how at one time, it was. But evolution has not been kind to the area. Since he’s been open, Les has been looking for ways to attract people to the south-end community.

The Fort Erie Business Club

Lakewood is a part of the development of the Fort Erie Business Club. “It’s for all of Fort Erie.”

The goal of the club is for business owners to get together to share information and resources.

“We had our first meeting last month, Les said. “It was intended to be in person but it was moved online due to bad weather. We are hoping to have our future meetings in person.”

He talked about the potential ways business people in Fort Erie can help each other through the club connections.

You can find future information about the developing Fort Erie Business Club on the Facebook page, Little Red Coffee & Catering.

Photos by Jen Wilkinson