Name: Triple Crown, a Chinatown mainstay for 25 years, facing eviction after losses attributed to pandemic economic downturn
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Triple Crown, a Chinatown mainstay for 25 years, facing eviction after losses attributed to pandemic economic downturn

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AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 04, 2021 at 1:18 pmTriple Crown Restaurant, a Chinatown mainstay since 1996, is facing eviction from its storefront located just inside the neighborhood’s iconic main gate on Wentworth Avenue.With more than $184,000 in rent due, according to a court document, second-generation owner Spencer Ng said that Triple Crown’s inability to make payments has been the result of COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining. Ng is challenging the eviction, though he is somewhat resigned to its eventuality.Advertisement“Realistically, are we going to win? Probably not,” Ng said, adding that his contesting the move is also a way to shine a light on “a situation that all small businesses are going through right now.”Landlord Michael Wing — who owns the building with his brother Allen — filed a motion for use and occupancy in December, alleging that Triple Crown owed more than $184,000 in total rent as of Dec. 1, 2020, according to court documents. Ng’s attorney has filed a motion to reconsider, which will be heard Feb. 10 in Cook County Circuit Court.AdvertisementNg is challenging the eviction based on an “impossibility of performance” defense, citing the unprecedented restrictions imposed on indoor dining establishments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In court proceedings Tuesday, Ng said the restaurant’s revenue fell 76% after shutdown orders were introduced in Illinois. The restaurant, which was founded by Ng’s mother at its original location on 22nd Place, has occupied the space at 2217 S. Wentworth Ave. since 2008. Ng said they’ve had the same landlord since the move-in.Under the terms of the lease, the restaurant’s monthly costs were $23,766.65, an amount that includes $19,626.65 in base rent, plus real estate taxes, insurance costs and water bills.According to court documents, Michael Wing — identified as 2215-17 Building Partnership in documents — said the last time Triple Crown made sufficient payments toward its base rent was April 2020. Since that time, the only payments it has made were three payments of $8,000, one each in July, August and September of 2020.Ng said that those payments were part of a verbal arrangement he had made with Allen Wing. Ng said he was later told those payments went toward monthly costs besides base rent and wouldn’t affect base rental fees.Ultimately the plaintiff seeks $95,066.60 to retroactively cover payments from September through December 2020, as well as $23,766.65 per month from Jan. 1, 2021, and onward.Attorneys for Wing would not comment on the case beyond an emailed statement, “The landlord made every effort to negotiate a reasonable settlement of this dispute before bringing suit, but Triple Crown did not make a single base rent payment since April of 2020.”The filings underscore another example of the squeeze on restaurants and bars under pandemic regulations, particularly those that remain saddled with rent payments for storefronts that have been empty for nearly 11 months.AdvertisementAlthough there have been some eviction bans and mortgage relief efforts for residential properties in Illinois, not as much help has been extended to commercial real estate landlords or tenants.As the Tribune , businesses in Chinatown were hurt by more than the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The xenophobic connotations and language surrounding the coronavirus and its relationship to China resulted in persistent prank calls and other derogatory comments throughout the last year, Ng said.If the eviction proceedings are successful, Ng said it likely would not be the end of the second-generation family restaurant.“Definitely (we) would have to close for a little bit,” he said. “We’ve looked at some other spaces, but really we’re just trying to see what’s a feasible model right now.” Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 04, 2021 at 1:18 pmTriple Crown Restaurant, a Chinatown mainstay since 1996, is facing eviction from its storefront located just inside the neighborhood’s iconic main gate on Wentworth Avenue.With more than $184,000 in rent due, according to a court document, second-generation owner Spencer Ng said that Triple Crown’s inability to make payments has been the result of COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining. Ng is challenging the eviction, though he is somewhat resigned to its eventuality.Advertisement“Realistically, are we going to win? Probably not,” Ng...

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The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Triple Crown, a Chinatown mainstay for 25 years, facing eviction after losses attributed to pandemic economic downturn

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