City seeks to oust Black Bear Crossings from Como Pavilion

Black Bear owners counter that they have not breached their contract

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

The city of St. Paul and Black Bear Crossings on the Lake are embroiled in a legal battle about who should run the Como Lakeside Pavilion.

The owners of Black Bear are determined to stay for another five years, while city officials have begun the process of finding a new vendor to manage the event and restaurant space at the pavilion.

“There is tremendous potential for the Como Lakeside Pavilion,” said Brad Meyer on behalf of the St. Paul Parks Department. “The city is looking for a vendor that can not only manage the highly successful banquet and wedding space in the facility, but could also operate a destination restaurant.”

THE ALLEGATIONS

St. Paul city officials charge that Black Bear violated the terms of its contract.

Specifically, the city charges that Black Bear paid its rent late for the past four years; did not provide the city with three bids for each project it undertook; and submitted receipts two years late.

Additionally, the city charges that Black Bear did not submit its financial records to the city for review in a timely manner. The city requested the records on May 15, 2013 and expected them within 15 days. They were provided in August 2013.

Attorney Ryan Marth is representing David and Pamela Glass, the owners of Black Bear. In a letter to the city, Marth argues that even though the management agreement between Black Bear and the city did not call for a mid-contract evaluation, Black Bear “timely complied with each of the records requests.”

Black Bear counters that the city did not issue correct invoices that factored in the money the Glasses spent on building projects despite being asked repeated times for them. But when given the correct invoices, the rent was paid. “Tellingly, the city never informed Black Bear that it believed that Black Bear’s annual payments were missing or late,” said Marth.

According to Marth, the city did not articulate its concerns to the owners of Black Bear over the last five months. “The purported ‘breaches’ of the management agreement by Black Bear are nothing more than a ruse constructed to allow the city to replace Black Bear with a different vendor,” wrote Marth.

SUCCESSFUL OR NOT?

A statement issued by the city pointed out that there are almost 4.4 million visitors at Como each year. The Como Lakeside Pavilion “is nestled in a highly trafficked area of the park near trails and Como Lake. Similar locations in the region, including in Minneapolis at Minnehaha Falls (Sea Salt) and Lake Calhoun (Tin Fish), have seen great success.”

According to city representatives, “The city continues to be concerned that the cafe has not shown the level of sales that would be expected from a successful establishment in that location.

“The issue is not revenue to the city, as BBC pays a flat fee pursuant to its most recent management agreement, but rather a concern that this publicly-owned facility is not being operated to its highest capacity.”

“We have the responsibility as stewards of public resources and public lands to ensure the types of agreements we enter into are in the best interest of Saint Paul taxpayers,” said Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hahm. “We’re confident that with the right restaurant concept in this space, the public use of the Como Lakeside Pavilion will increase as a local asset and help it become a regional destination.”

“I’m looking forward to working with the community and stakeholders to determine what’s next for this great public space,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Amy Brendmoen. “With the right partner, these types of facilities can provide a very important service to their neighborhoods and communities.”

The Glasses counter that the city’s proposed benchmarks are discriminatory, and pointed out that they are not aware of any other city foodservice vendors whose leases are contingent upon meeting city-imposed benchmarks.

SURPRISED BY CITY

Glass, a St. Paul Ward 5 resident, said he was surprised by the city’s decision not to renew their contract “after they came to us in 2009 and asked us to renew for another 10 years.” He and his wife, Pam, had been considering moving on with their lives and leaving the restaurant business, but agreed to stay.

According to Glass, “The city has been telling us how well we have been doing as recent as this past spring when they asked us to look at park property in Phalen to see if we were interested in doing concessions there and handle the wedding business at that site.”

However, he said that things changed earlier this year when council member Brendmoen “suggested I take on Sea Salt as a partner.”

Glass, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, questions whether it is the Native American influence inside their restaurant that has displeased the city. “Councilmember Amy Brendmoen disparaged the Native American influence in a meeting at the Pavilion with Mr. Glass,” observed Marth.

“Since the year 2000, we’ve built a nice little business and helped to transform the site to the stature it was meant to have,” remarked Glass.

During the Glasses’ tenure, a patio was built on the lake side of the pavilion, and two perennial gardens created. A concession stand was added on the lower lever of the pavilion, and it also handles paddleboats and canoe rentals.

Glass pointed out that they have plans to upgrade the menu and remodel the restaurant.

“We’ve been good stewards of a public building and helped to improve the overall physical presence in the maintenance of the building,” said Glass.

“We’ve been a good partner for the city and are very discouraged by their current actions.”