Night club owners see no reason for eviction

By ERICA JAHN

Staff writer

The owners of Café Arizona are promising to fight an eviction suit their landlord filed against the night club recently, saying the allegations made in the suit are unfounded.

“We have every right to stay,” manager Sharon Seo said.

Seo, whose parents, Hyun Heui Seo Jeong and Myung Chol Seo, own Café Arizona, said they never received any formal complaints explaining the concerns the landlords have with the club before eviction notifications were filed.

“They invited my parents and me into the office and said, ‘You’re getting evicted,’” Seo said. “That was the first notice we got.”

In the suit, filed in King County Superior Court March 21, Andrew Cratsenberg Jr., the attorney representing Cratsenberg Properties, said Café Arizona breached the lease contract by causing a nuisance. He cited four shootings during the past six months, dancing and waste on the premises.

Cratsenberg Properties alleges police have responded frequently to the club and have arrested patrons for drugs, possession of firearms, assault and disorderly conduct.

The lawsuit alleges the insurer for Center Plaza, where Cafe Arizona is located, decided not to renew Cratsenberg Properties’ liability insurance for the center after the last of three shootings, which reportedly stemmed from altercations that started at the night club.

In addition to eviction, Cratsenberg Properties is seeking double the $10,740.66 monthly rent for the time Café Arizona is on the premises unlawfully and other damages and legal fees.

Seo refuted the allegations and called the eviction attempt a “classic discrimination case” because the club has a diverse clientele and her parents are Korean. Cratsenberg Properties denies any racial motivation in the lawsuit.

Ten years ago, Seo’s parents opened Café Arizona in the Center Plaza corner unit it currently occupies. Today, the club operates from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday and hosts non-alcoholic 18-and-over nights, frequented by college students, as well as over-21 Latino nights with live music and an over-21 top-40 and hip hop music night.

Seo said the club staffs six armed security guards outside and 13 house security guards inside. “Mom and dad don’t care about how much money they have to spend on security guards,” she said.

Most of Café Arizona’s patrons are in their mid-20s to mid-30s, and a lot of soldiers go to the night club, Seo said. Couples and singles go dancing at Café Arizona. “Our customers come from everywhere We’ve been around so long, our customers just know Café Arizona,” she said.

She said several of the alleged nuisance incidents are untrue. She denied an allegation that a 17-year-old girl was allowed inside and was served alcohol and raped. Seo also wondered why Cratsenberg Properties would use dancing as a reason to evict the club.

“We’ve owned this business for 10 years. Why has he (Andrew Cratsenberg Sr., head of Cratsenberg Properties) all of sudden brought this up?” she said. “This is what he does. He likes to kick out tenants.”

Seo said if the night club operators had done something wrong, they’d be willing to do whatever was required to change.

“If we are a nuisance to the community, why can’t we just talk?” she said. “This is our lives. This is my parents’ business. They’re just raising their kids and sending their kids to school.”

Staff writer Erica Jahn: 925-5565, ejahn@fedwaymirror.com

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