Star Market, Tian Fu's Leases End This Summer

Gravestar, Inc.,  has terminated Star Market's lease at 448 Washington St., which will also end the Tian Fu Restaurant's sub-lease at the site.

Star Market will close July 29, but the future of Tian Fu Restaurant, which sub-leases from the store, remains a hopeful question for Li Zhen Yu and her husband, John Chen, who own the business.

The town and Gravestar, Inc., continued to lay groundwork for Whole Foods to move to the Washington Street site last week with the signing of an extension of the lease of the town-owned aqueduct property,  a strip of land that runs through the middle of the current Star Market lot.

Haley Marconett, spokesperson for SUPERVALU,  Inc. which owns Star Market, said that earlier this year Gravestar informed them of a possible redevelopment of the site, which was ultimately approved.

"Gravestar subsequently terminated our lease. As a result, the Star Market will be closing on Thursday, July 29. The Shaw's stores in nearby Chestnut Hill, Newtonville, and Auburndale will remain open and ready to serve customers. We would like to thank our customers and associates. We have enjoyed being part of the Wellesley community for the past 18 years," Marconett wrote Wednesday afternoon.

 "Because Gravestar has opted to exercise their right to terminate our lease, we in turn are required to notify our subtenant (Tian Fu Restaurant) of the termination of their lease as well. We do not have the right to object to this termination and as we will no longer have a lease on the property, we do not have the option to allow the subtenant to remain,"Marconett wrote.

Tian Fu's ambiguous future at the site has been a worry for Yu and Chen since Town Meeting approved extending Gravestar's lease. They sent a letter to Whole Foods June 1 asking to maintain the restaurant at the site, sub-leasing from the new store, but haven't heard back. Today, said Charles Chen, their son, they received the letter from Star Market terminating their lease. Unless they hear different, they have until Aug. 30 to clear everything out of the restaurant.

Last week, Wellesley Executive Director Hans Larsen said the latest information the town has on when Whole Foods will move to the site is either late summer or early fall of 2011.

The question has not been just whether and when they may have to move their business, Yu said. Ultimately, the question is, "How can we keep our home?" Now, with a firm answer from Star Market on their current lease, they've yet to hear from Whole Foods about securing another.

Many people have been asking her what will happen to the restaurant, she said,  and there is little she can tell them, because their own questions have gone unanswered.

A few friends have offered other sites in town for her to lease, she said, but so far, the locations offered haven't been suitable for the business. But, Yu said, she's still very appreciative of the offers. Somehow, she said, she hopes to keep Tian Fu in Wellesley, which she considers her hometown. She first came to Wellesley in 1984, working as a housekeeper while attending school at the Boston Conservatory of Music. Later, she went to Mass Bay Community College to learn English. She and her husband have operated Tian Fu in town for 18 years.

"I have very good memories with this town," Yu said.