Sedona AZ (May 4, 2015) – The following are two Facebook postings shared with the Sedona community and SedonaEye.com editor via social network options. Both postings below are printed in their entirety as received. We uphold the right to free speech and public access, and in the interest of fairness, we have disabled the interactive comment section here so readers may direct Facebook comments and questions accordingly:

To community friends and patrons I am writing this posting to express how heavyhearted I have been about a legal issue which has come up between myself and our Cucina Rustica landlord at the Tequa shopping center in the Sedona VOC.

I want to set the record straight as there appears to be a number of misconceptions, misrepresentations and some down right malicious propaganda circulated in the local community.

When we renewed our Cucina Rustica lease a few years ago, for another ten years, we were assured by our landlord that we would be the only fine dining restaurant at Tequa and there would be no neighbors at the Tequa shopping center competing in our dining segment.

Earlier this year we heard, purely by chance, through Facebook, that the Schoolhouse restaurant in Cottonwood was moving to Tequa. The Schoolhouse hired a fine dining manager for the move, and advertised itself as ‘upscale’.

We let the landlord know that our lease was about to be violated and we asked for our lease agreement to be upheld. Unfortunately we were disregarded.

With our lease committing us to a tremendous amount of rent (almost 2 million dollar over the life of the lease) as well as our responsibilities to our 50 employees and their families I felt it necessary to put the landlord on notice. When we were again ignored we had no choice but to start legal action.

My dispute is solely with the landlord. I have no personal animosity towards any individual, restaurant or investor.

I believe in the spirit of fair competition, and I also believe that contractual agreements should be honored especially when they are relied upon by a business built on sheer hard work, love of great food, deep respect for our guests and the support of a great team of employees whose livelihoods depend on us.

(end post)

Schoolhouse Restaurant

Hello friends, family & fans,

I wanted to respond to questions and concerns from you following a Facebook posting about a conflict between our landlord, Schoolhouse, my family and another tenant about details in a lease agreement.

Because it’s not appropriate to dive into the weeds, I’m hoping you’ll let me address this from the surface level and know that more information will be forthcoming.

That being said, please know that our vision since day one has been to provide the best quality ingredients at the best price and great service in a comfortable non-pretentious environment served by people who truly care about your guest experience.

We are really as basic as that. We are a husband and wife-owned restaurant that gives back to our community on a daily basis but we choose not to be the headline for recognition.

Unfortunately, the situation we’re dealing with has been quite troubling because by the very nature of the lawsuit, we ARE INCLUDED.

What I want to assure you are these facts:

• We have not violated terms of the lease agreement at any level and have provided legal documentation and support materials to back up that statement since day one.

• We continue to focus all of our efforts on providing you with memorable meals and equally memorable experiences at reasonable prices.

• We fully believe in the power of competition to make us and those we compete with better and we know full well who we are and are not competing with.

• We, too, are a victim of this dispute that has, unfortunately, led to some hurtful and unfounded comments about us personally and our restaurant, and

• We’re here for the long haul because we believe in our product, our incredible staff and in serving the community we truly love.

We are deeply and sincerely grateful for your patronage, your support and your concern during a very difficult time we hope will be resolved quickly and correctly.

We look forward to seeing you at the restaurant and to continue building your trust, your support and your good will.

With warm regards,
Chris & Laura Dobrowolski & the Schoolhouse Restaurant Family
P.S. 7days a week starts today!!!

(end post)

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