The Boathouse, a 50-year-old fixture of the Santa Monica Pier was forcibly shut down by the city in April to make way for movie-themed chain restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp.
Naia Sheffield, who had taken over her family’s restaurant several years ago, filed a $50 million lawsuit in May against the city and the Pier Restoration Corp., claiming she was unfairly kicked out.
The suit alleges that the city and the PRC, which handles leases on the pier, reneged on a 25-year lease Sheffield negotiated in 1993. The city, which owns the pier, ended its month-to-month lease with the Boathouse in 2001 so Bubba Gump could move in. Sheffield claims she was forced to enter into the month-to-month lease in 1998 to keep possession of the restaurant.
During what Sheffield describes as an unfair selection process, the PRC awarded Bubba Gump Shrimp a long-term lease. The city maintains its selection process was fair. Bubba Gump is estimated to pay nearly double the rent than what Boathouse was paying and much more in a percentage of the restaurant’s gross sales receipts than what the Boathouse brought into the city.
The lawsuit is pending and Bubba Gump is planning on razing the Boathouse to build a new restaurant, which is expected to open next year.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2002. Read the original PDF.