The future of Crepe and Gelato Boulevard on Marshall Street remains unclear after the store’s display window was boarded up and a “For Lease” sign was placed in the window.

The Downtown Committee of Syracuse has been told that the Marshall Street store is only closed for the winter, said John Vavalo, the vice president of the Crouse-Marshall Business Improvement District in an email. The other Crepe and Gelato Boulevard location in Armory Square is also closed for the winter, according to Crepe and Gelato Boulevard’s Facebook page.

“I am not sure how they can afford to do it, but that is what they are saying,” Vavalo said.

The dessert restaurant first came to Syracuse in spring 2013 when the Armory Square location opened on Clinton Street. The Marshall Street location opened about a year later.

The phone number on the Marshall Street store’s “For Lease” sign goes to the Crepe and Gelato Boulevard in Armory Square.

Noam and Meshi Cohen, who own the two Crepe and Gelato Boulevard locations, could not be reached for comment. There have been no posts to Crepe and Gelato Boulevard’s Facebook and Twitter pages since Nov. 23.

Crepe and Gelato Boulevard rents its location at 113 Marshall Street from David and Sandra Jacobs. When reached by phone, Sandra Jacobs said she did not know why there was a “For Lease” sign in the window.

The Jacobs filed a lawsuit against the Cohens last January for defaulting on their rent payments, according to documents filed in Onondaga County Supreme Court. In the lawsuit, the Jacobs say the Cohens failed to pay their rent in December 2013 and January 2014 and owe them a total of $12,000. The Jacobs also say the lease is for 15 years, according to the documents.

The Cohens filed a counterclaim on March 4 saying the original lease agreement was for a five-year term, with two additional renewal options that increased in rent payments with each new term. In addition, before the Cohens signed the lease, the Jacobs did not inform them that the building had code violations, according to the counterclaim.

These code violations delayed the opening of the Crepe and Gelato Boulevard on Marshall Street for two months because the Jacobs failed to rectify the violations, according to the documents. To complete renovations and receive a building permit, the Cohens say they had to spend $1,050 to build a gutter, $3,500 for legal fees and $286.47 for heating and electricity while they waited for the permit, according to the documents.

In addition to the money spent for the building permit, the restaurant also paid $7,985 to train staff for two months before the store’s opening. The building’s code violations caused the store to delay its opening for an additional two months. Because of the delay the store could not afford to pay its staff and lost its trained employees as a result, according to the documents.

On July 21, the Jacobs responded to the Cohen’s counterclaim by denying all allegations and requesting the counterclaims be dismissed. They also asked for judgment on the complaint as well as “costs, disbursements and reasonable attorney fees,” according to the documents.

Peter Hobaica, the lawyer representing the Jacobs, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Elizabeth Genung, the lawyer representing the Cohens, could not be reached for comment.

Published on December 2, 2014 at 9:23 pm

Contact Anna: almerod@syr.edu