Kieran's Owner Suing For Lost Business During Block E Construction
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The rumbling inside Kieran's Irish Pub these days isn't from customer's growling stomachs -- it's from the building's construction.
The normally busy corner in downtown Minneapolis is covered in scaffolding, which is keeping customers away.
"It's been a pretty significant hit to our business," said Kieran's general manager Craig Wait. "we're down 32 percent in lunch sales in the last month. Not only are we surrounded by construction, we also had a minimized patio area, which is really where we make our money in the summer."
The building is being turned into Mayo Clinic Square, a sports medicine center and practice facility for the Timberwolves and Lynx. It'll also house some retail and office space, once construction is completed this coming spring.
This week, the bar filed a lawsuit against its landlord, Camelot LLC, blaming them for a loss in business and say they've been overcharged for utilities.
"As much as I don't mind helping out a bit, I don't want to pick up for the empty parts of the rest of the building," Owner Peter Kellin said.
While they've been in talks with the developer for over a year, Kieran's feels not enough has been done to compensate them for construction losses.
"I'm in the bar business. Suing something is not something I like to do. In fact, we've never done it before but we feel we were backed into a corner," Kellin said.
Kieran's is among the four oldest businesses at Block E. Tennant trouble isn't new for the entertainment district.
Since the building opened in 2002, businesses have struggled to keep customers. Hard Rock Cafe, Game Works, a movie theater and a handful of other stores have been forced to move out, and there was an unsuccessful attempt to bring in a casino.
Developers believe Mayo Clinic Square will bring in a healthy dose of new business when it opens this coming Spring. Kieran's says it's ready to serve customers now.
"We really love the space and we're looking forward to the new development and what its' going to look like, but we have a business to run," Wait said.
Phillip Jaffe, spokesman for Camelot LLC, released the following statement:
"We realize that the renovation of the building is disruptive in the short term, but confident that it will benefit Kieran's and the City in the long term. We are also confident that we have complied with the requirements of the lease that expressly anticipate that the building may be renovated. We have taken all reasonable steps to minimize any inconvenience to Kieran's or its customers and still get the necessary work done. At the end of the day, the renovation should significantly enhance their business."