A Santa Monica restaurant occupying a prime Main Street location is fighting eviction after its landlord filed an unlawful detainer action in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging the business owes nearly $68,000 in unpaid rent and fees.
Sequoia Shores, LLC, which owns the Edgemar complex at 2435 Main St., filed the complaint Jan. 16 against Edgemar Hospitality, LLC, the tenant operating the 3,463-square-foot restaurant space. The case, filed in the court's West District, seeks possession of the premises, recovery of past-due rent and attorney fees.
According to the complaint, Edgemar Hospitality fell behind on rent beginning in October 2025, accumulating $67,800.70 in unpaid obligations by the time a three-business-day notice to pay rent or quit was served Jan. 7, 2026.
The itemized breakdown of the alleged debt includes base rent of $4,530.95 for October 2025; base rent and estimated common area maintenance (CAM) charges of $13,852 and $6,000 respectively for November and December 2025; and base rent of $14,059.78 plus $6,000 in estimated CAM charges for January 2026. The notice also includes two storage unit charges of $750 each for January 2026 and a late fee of $2,005.97.
The complaint states the tenant failed to comply with the notice by its Jan. 12, 2026 expiration date. The landlord elected to declare a forfeiture of the lease and is seeking damages accruing at $461.73 per day — described in the complaint as the fair rental value of the premises — for each day the tenant remains in possession through entry of judgment.
The underlying lease, a 10-year commercial agreement commencing Jan. 1, 2024, sets base rent at $13,852 per month with scheduled escalations. The lease was signed by Dominic Ta, identified as director of operations for Edgemar Hospitality, and Michael Baker, listed as manager. The property management firm Cal Select Properties, Inc., based in Los Angeles, manages the building.
The lease, which runs through Dec. 31, 2034, includes two five-year extension options and includes a list of other modified or forgiven costs. It contains several addenda reflecting modifications negotiated after the original signing, including a rent abatement period for the early months of the tenancy, a revised rent commencement date of Sept. 1, 2024 and a deferral of a liquor license payment deadline to September 2024. The addenda also granted the tenant two months of free rent in February and March 2025, with the tenant remaining responsible for NNN expenses during that period.
Edgemar Hospitality filed a response March 5 contesting the eviction on multiple grounds.
The tenant's answer argues the notice to pay rent or quit is legally defective and the amounts demanded are improper. The defense contends the notice includes charges that do not qualify as "rent" under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161, including common area maintenance charges that are subject to reconciliation and audit under the lease terms.
Specifically, the defense argues the CAM charges included in the notice are not fixed rent, were not accompanied by sufficient detail to allow the tenant to calculate what was actually owed and therefore rendered the notice "uncertain and legally defective."
The tenant further contends the landlord failed to strictly comply with statutory notice requirements governing commercial unlawful detainer actions and that the notice did not provide a legally valid opportunity to cure.
Edgemar Hospitality also argues the landlord's conduct after serving the notice — including communications and negotiations regarding payment and tenancy — constituted a waiver or modification of the notice and of any claimed forfeiture. The defense additionally invokes principles of equity, waiver and estoppel as bars to the landlord's election of forfeiture, and reserves the right to seek relief from forfeiture under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1179.
The tenant is asking the court to dismiss the complaint or, alternatively, to stay enforcement to permit resolution of disputed amounts.
The restaurant isn't the first to face legal action in that location. The former tenant, Brick + Mortar, pleaded no contest to 14 misdemeanor counts, including alcohol permit violations, and will pay $12,000 in fines and restitution while serving 30 months of probation.