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Phoenix coffee shop fighting to stay open after dispute with landlord

The owner of Tres Leches Café and his landlord are now heading to civil court to resolve the matter.

PHOENIX — Tres Leches Café celebrated five years at its Phoenix downtown flagship location in August, but there was no party as the owner and landlord have been in a months-long disagreement over the lease agreement and rent money.

“We love this space,” owner E.T. Rivera told 12News about his 17th Avenue and Van Buren Street store.

“A lot of people really love and support the café,” he added. “This is such a staple. It’s worth fighting to be here.”

Rivera said the issue with his landlord, Otilia Diaz, began in August 2021, when his original lease ended.

“I think six months before that, I was communicating with the landlord about renewing our lease here,” the owner said. “Since then, we’ve been chasing each other to get that done.”

But they never signed a new lease. Twenty-one months after the agreement expired, the landlord wants Rivera to leave.

On Nov. 28, Diaz served Rivera with a 5-day eviction notice through their attorneys, arguing he owed her more than $40,500 in unpaid rent.

“I have been up-to-date with my rent,” the owner said. “We’re not in default of our lease by any means, our original one or even having done anything to jeopardize us being here as a tenant.”

According to the eviction notice the owner received and provided to 12News, Diaz’s attorneys said Rivera failed to “exercise the option to extend” his lease and mentioned he should have paid a month-to-month rate of $5,000 after the agreement ended in 2021.

But Rivera said that was never “clearly” communicated to him, as during that time, the landlord was in the process of hiring a property management company who was supposed to be contacting him “with respect to the lease options,” an email included in the eviction notice dated for May 21st of this year said.

Rivera argues no one reached out, so, he continued to pay the original monthly amount of $3,500, which he said the landlord accepted throughout the entire time until he was served with the eviction notice.

The café owner believes since he texted his landlord about his intentions to sign a new lease three months before it expired, he shouldn’t have to pay more as he expressed his intentions to extend.

The original lease Rivera signed allows him to extend two times, for three years, until 2027 if he provides a written notice 90 days before the expiration.

The disagreement is now heading to court after the parties hired attorneys and filed civil actions.

12News reached out to Diaz for comment, but she did not respond. The attorney representing her declined to comment, pending the litigation.

“I would like to stay here, this is our home,” Rivera said. “It’s also our right. It was guaranteed for us in that original lease. We haven’t done anything wrong for us to be kicked out of this place and we have every right to be here.”

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