Update 12/28/2016: We’re excited to announce that the Queen City Grill will live on with new ownership. Please see our recent post for more details.
You may have heard some discussion about Queen City Grill’s lease with Plymouth. Here’s our statement on the matter.
First, we feel it is important to put to rest the speculation of a heroin needle injection site at the current spot occupied by Queen City Grill. There is absolutely no basis for this rumor. It is purely idle social media comments. Plymouth Housing Group takes great care in selecting tenants for its retail spaces and this location will get the same attention that all our properties do. It is important to us that neighborhoods where we’re located provide a safe and comfortable living environment.
Plymouth Housing Group provides lease space to 15 restaurant and retail commercial tenants, the proceeds of which go toward our mission of helping homeless adults. One of those tenants is the Queen City Grill (QCG). The owners of QCG also owned two other failed businesses which cost Plymouth hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, legal fees and court costs. Plymouth ultimately won the law suits and was deemed to be in the right.
Since 2010, QCG has also suffered from financial problems. Plymouth has worked closely with QCG to help alleviate the situation. Rent has been reduced and leases have been restructured. QCG now is thousands of dollars behind in its obligations. Plymouth regrets the difficulties being suffered by this long time Seattle institution but cannot offer a new lease term to this commercial tenant without risking the financial stability of Plymouth’s mission. Our intent is that this would continue as a restaurant location, but no specific plans have been made.