UEM Sunrise Bhd had leased the site, located within Aurora Melbourne Central, a prominent landmark in the city, to Eatertainment in 2021, according to The Sunday Age and Neos Kosmos newspapers.
Eatertainment is a group of companies which wants to run Paddle Battle, which combines table tennis with a restaurant and bar.
Last September, UEM Sunrise terminated the lease in a dispute over right-of-way or easement through the outlet, among others. A tribunal has since ordered UEM Sunrise to reinstate the lease pending a hearing.
George Pezaros, from Eatertainment Group, said that when they first leased the space, they were assured in writing that an easement, or a right-of-way, would not cause any problems for their plans to run the outlet.
He said they were only told to ensure a right-of-way was made accessible from early morning to late at night.
However, they later discovered that the easement had a detailed 200-page agreement, approved by local authorities, which imposed strict rules on what activities could take place in the leased area, including disallowing a bar.
As a result, they are unable to obtain a licence to serve alcohol on the premises, the reports read. The only type of liquor licence they can apply for is one meant for a cafe restaurant, which did not suit their business model.
“That (200-page) agreement was never given to us or our lawyers when the lease was given to us and, to this day, the landlord or the landlord’s solicitors can’t give anyone an answer as to why they didn’t or how they forgot or what happened,” Pezaros was quoted in Neo Kosmos as saying.
He said the situation compelled him to reapply for a liquor licence thrice only to be rejected because of easement-related issues, which he said was UEM Sunrise’s responsibility.
Despite having built a new covered walkway to allow for a liquor licence, he claimed UEM Sunrise remained uncooperative.
“We’ve revamped everything as much as we can to make it work but the landlord still is not working with us. They’re working against us and we don’t know why,” he said.
“Instead of them negotiating or working out a reasonable commercial settlement, they’re just trying to bleed us out, to not have to deal with it. And I think at this stage they thought that we might have gone away, but we haven’t.”
UEM Sunrise had denied any wrongdoing regarding the tenancy.
“UEM Sunrise refutes any suggestions of improper conduct regarding the tenancy with Eatertainment Group at Aurora Melbourne Central,” it said in a statement to Neos Kosmos.
It said the eatery’s owners should respect the tribunal on the matter.
“The company, in compliance with the legal process, will not provide any further details regarding the dispute,” it said.