ONE OF Dublin's best-known pubs, O'Donoghues on Merrion Row, has asked a court to evict the leaseholder of the next-door restaurant, Kitty's Bistro, which it owns.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that Sylvester Costello, who owns "a very valuable" long-term lease on the premises, owes O'Donoghues (Merrion Row) Ltd €140,000 in rent arrears.
Counsel for Mr Costello, Angus Buttanshaw, told Judge Linnane that Mr Costello accepted the arrears were in the region of €84,000. While it was a substantial amount he was confident he could sell the lease and have substantial monies left over after paying any outstanding rent.
He said Mr Costello had spent €350,000 upgrading the restaurant at 14 Merrion Row, Dublin, which had ceased trading in June and was in the hands of a liquidator. He said that while various furnishings and fittings were assets of the company in liquidation Mr Costello was the owner of the very valuable lease.
Mr Buttanshaw said Mr Costello was seeking to sell the lease and pay off the landlord. He accepted he had not been paying the full rent settled in a 2002 rent review but felt there would be no difficulty if someone acceptable to the landlord could be found to purchase the lease.
He told the court that when Kitty's Bistro had ceased trading a notice had been attached to the front door and this had sparked off the landlord's legal action to recover possession. He said a restrictive clause in the lease meant the premises could only be used as a restaurant.
Judge Linnane heard that while a representative of the landlord had entered the premises through a skylight and taken possession by changing the locks, the restaurant had been taken back on behalf of Mr Costello and the locks had been changed again.
An application by O'Donoghues to recover possession was adjourned until October to facilitate provision of further evidence to the court.