Marvin Spiegel, owner of The Office Supplier, said he received an unexpected visit last Wednesday from John Watkins, one of three managing partners of Palisades Partners, which owns the building at 15237 Sunset. “Mr. Watkins came in, said ‘Hello,’ shook my hand, then walked out and proceeded to measure the outside of the front of the store,” said Spiegel, whose lease is up at the end of March. “He didn’t say that we could stay or even that we had to leave. What that means, I don’t know.” Spiegel, 72, who has been leasing the 2,800 sq. ft. space since 1990 from Palisades Partners, the largest landowner in the Village representing multifamily trusts, was told nearly a year ago that he must vacate the Sunset space when his lease expires. Although Spiegel has been in business at the same Sunset location for nearly 16 years, he said he was not given the option to renew’even if he could afford the new rent, which he said would be almost double the $7,000 a month he is currently paying. While Spiegel, who has cut down on inventory in recent months, said he is currently waiting for a 30-day Notice to Vacate from the landlord, commercial realtor Gregg Pawlik, who represents Palisades Partners on some of its retail leases in the Palisades Village, said such a notice may not be forthcoming. “In the State of California there isn’t a requirement for notice when a lease expires, unless there is some prior agreement and I don’t know if there is in this case as I have not seen Mr. Spiegel’s lease,” Pawlik said. “What I do know is when a tenancy is over’any tenancy’the tenant is expected to be out by the last day and that’s that.” Which leaves Spiegal approximately six weeks to either liquidate his inventory or move it to another location by the end of March. But he said he won’t leave before presenting Palisades Partners with a petition he has been circulating for the last year, ever since Palisades Partners announced rent increases for the many storefronts they own in the 1000 block of Swarthmore. The petition, which has 2,585 signatures and calls for a boycott, reads: “We, the undersigned residents of Pacific Palisades, are unhappy with your proposed rent increases in the village, which are causing many longtime businesses to close. The Office Supplier is just one business which will be unable to pay the new rent. We feel so strongly about the character of the village and our local store owners that we want you to know we will not support any new businesses which take their place. Signed…” Last Wednesday, Watkins also paid a visit to The Nest Egg, located next door to the The Office Supplier. There, to the surprise of co-owner Megan Kaufman, he also did some measuring which left her and partner Cindy Ellis wondering about the future of their lease, which expires this summer. Watkins did hint that some storage space on the second floor currently leased by The Nest Egg might be of interest to a prospective new tenant for The Office Supplier. When Kaufman inquired as to who the new tenant might be, all Watkins would say is that it was a retailer “that no one’s seen before in the Palisades,” and that he would know more in the next three months. The Nest Egg, which offers an eclectic assortment of both home and personal merchandise, was just recently remodeled (new carpet, new fixtures and a paint job). Kaufman’s concern now is the fall and Christmas inventory she’s already ordered. “I hope I don’t have to cancel all that stock,” she said. “Business is great. We definitely don’t want to have to move.” Kaufman said Watkins’ visit last week was the first indication she had that there might be some changes in store for The Nest Egg. Asked what kind of new lease she would like she said a three-year “would be comfortable. Five years would feel more secure.” “The landlord has assured me that they are committed to small village stores, like ours,” Ellis said. “I’ve been leasing from them for eight years. They have always been fair to me, and I presume they will continue to be. If anything, we’d like to expand.” Hearing that the landlord is apparently in negotiations to lease his space, Spiegal was not pleased. “If we have to move, I have no idea where we’ll go,” he said. “The Office Supplier has been in the Palisades for 55 years. It might be too late for us but hopefully it won’t be too late for other merchants in town. That’s why we got the petition going.” (Editor’s note: A call to Palisades Partners on Tuesday to ascertain the lease status of both The Office Supplier and The Nest Egg was not returned before we went to press on Wednesday.)
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
