Family-Owned Middle Eastern Restaurant Fights To Stay Open

A family-owned Middle Eastern restaurant in Bailey's Crossroads is at risk of closing after failed negotiations to renew its lease.

The lease for Bawadi Mediterranean Grill and Sweets Cafe at 5916 Leesburg Pike expired at the end of March. In a Facebook post, the owners say they've been in negotiations with the landlord to extend the lease since February, when they received a letter from the landlord's lawyer to evacuate the building by March 31.

The negotiations happened for months to no avail. The owners made one last offer to stay for 30 days to allow time for them to find a new location. But according to the Annandale Blog, the landlord at Alta Enterprises, LLC asked for around $8,000 in legal fees.

The owners claim they've made rent payments on time for four years and that the landlord did not give a reason for not renewing the lease. The restaurant will seek a new location or close once its 10 employees could secure new jobs. Meanwhile the owners are circulating a petition to rally support from the community.

"Small businesses like Bawadi Mediterranean Grill are part of the backbone of this neighborhood. We established this family restaurant to not only support us and our employees families but also to contribute back to our community by helping local food drives and events," said Sara Mekki, the owner and manager, in the petition. "What we hope from this campaign is to show that we can stop the displacement of residents and businesses in our neighborhoods and save ten families from unemployment."

The petition drew numerous of support from customers. One commenter said, "I know how much the Bawadi family has been working hard to make it a successful business and one of the most favorite place for the community Even if the landlord has the right choose to sign a new lease agreement or not but he does not have the right to destroy a small family business by [forcing] them to move without giving them enough time to do so.

The landlord's lawyer did not respond to a request to comment to the Annandale Blog.

Image via Google Maps screenshot