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Cancer battle overshadows restaurant eviction
18 Mar
Summary
- Restaurant owner faces eviction due to unpaid rent.
- Owner's husband battles terminal Stage 4 cancer.
- Landlord refused rent reduction request.
- Sixteen employees walked out after eviction notice.
Ketch Harbor Pub in Half Moon Bay has ceased operations following an eviction notice from the San Mateo County Harbor District over $155,000 in unpaid rent. Co-owner Mishelle Westendorf described the eviction as an act of "greed" by the district, which allegedly refused to reduce their monthly rent from $20,500 to $12,500. This request was made as her husband, David, battles Stage 4 thymic carcinoma.
The Westendorfs had made partial rent payments in September and October of the previous year but none since. They informed the Harbor Board of Commissioners that a rent reduction was necessary to keep Ketch Harbor Pub, Pelagic Cantina, and The Fish Market afloat. The district confirmed the rent reduction request was neither approved nor denied.
The couple received a three-day notice to pay rent or quit last Thursday. The eviction notice was discovered taped to their storefront on Saturday while Mishelle was driving David to Stanford Hospital. The situation caused significant disruption, with 16 employees leaving their jobs that morning, impacting the restaurant's earnings.
