[Neartown] Fw: todays Houston's chronicle / Diedrichs

[Robert Graham]

Neartown neighbors,                           Here is the text from Thursday's Houston Chronicle that I wanted to share with the group. Please pass this along to your organization's membership & officers. Thanks.   Sincerely, Robert Graham http://www.rgnutritionalproducts.com   ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Needham To: Mary Needham Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 2:46 PM Subject: FW: todays Houston's chronicle / Diedrichs   This is a copy of the article that came out this morning. Mary N. : Oct. 25, 2006, 5:28PM Coffeehouse closing upsets customers Landlord elects not to lease site to Diedrich franchise By TARA WHITE Chronicle Correspondent Jeff Grant is furious that Diedrich Winlow Coffeehouse, 1901 Westheimer, is scheduled to close Nov. 6 after conducting business in that location for 10 years. Grant, a loyal customer, has contacted everyone in his e-mail address book and has stood in front of the coffeehouse almost every day for weeks to protest its closure. The property owner hired a 24-hour security guard and police were called because of his presence, but he is not budging. Grant is not the only person upset about the closure of Diedrich, which serves about 3,500 customers each week. Hundreds have signed petitions to keep it from closing. Dirk Smith, owner of the coffeehouse and president of Magna Cum Latte Inc., the Diedrich Coffee franchise in Houston, said his customers are upset because they know the business is being forced to close. Smith said it is closing because T-Con Properties chose not to lease the property to him. Said Bradford Schmalfuss, vice president of T-Con Properties and landlord for the space, "We have the right to lease with anyone we want to." Schmalfuss also said T-Con had no obligation to lease to Smith because the company's original lease was with Diedrich Coffee's corporate office, which chose not to renew. The property will be leased to The Upper Hand Salon, which is located at 1905 Westheimer next to the coffeehouse. The lease becomes effective on Nov. 7. Rachael Gower, who owns the salon with her husband, Brian Williard, said they plan to use the space to expand their salon operations. Smith said he does not understand T-Con's decision. "Our coffeehouse has brought thousands of people to the Winlow Center," Smith said. "I have never paid the rent late. Bradford told me on several occasions I was the best tenant he had." A letter dated May 11, addressed to Schmalfuss from Diedrich Coffee's corporate office, confirms that Diedrich Coffee did not plan to renew the lease. But it states that corporate officials asked Smith to negotiate a direct lease with Schmalfuss. E-mail correspondences between Schmalfuss and Smith indicate that Smith and Schmalfuss agreed to move forward with the lease. Schmalfuss sent Smith a draft of the lease agreement by e-mail in late May for Smith and his lawyer to review. Negotiations moved forward until June 9, when Schmalfuss sent Smith an e-mail stating that T-Con would not proceed with lease discussions because it planned "to take the center in a different direction." Smith said he was shocked by the e-mail, as he had returned only a day earlier to his home in California after a special trip to Houston. Schmalfuss requested the trip because he wanted Smith to discuss parking issues with the Upper Hand Salon. "I jumped through hoops for him to make sure everything was going smoothly," Smith said. "I don't know what happened in those 11 hours to completely change his decision." Gower said some have blamed the Upper Hand Salon for the closure of Diedrich Winlow Coffeehouse. "We absolutely did not push anyone out," she said. "As small business owners we would never do that because we know how hard it is." Smith plans to fight T-Con's decision until the day Diedrich closes, but he is also looking for a new location and wants to find a temporary space from which his employees could work. He said employees also have the option to move to the two other Diedrich Coffeehouse locations in Houston, at 4005 Montrose Blvd. and 1008 Bay Area Blvd. Grant said he will continue to do everything he can to keep the coffeehouse open. "People have business meetings here. College students come here to study. Parents feel this is a safe place for their children to hang out after school," Grant said "I am going to keep speaking out because I know people love this place."

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