Triangle Square sues former tenants

Elise Gee

COSTA MESA -- Triangle Square has filed lawsuits against two former

tenants for breaking their lease agreements.

Santa Fe Grill and La Salsa vacated the center without paying their rent,

said Kelly Bosche, Triangle Square attorney. The two businesses have been

served with the complaints, but neither have responded.

Triangle Square, which is rounding out its first year under the new

ownership of CGM Investment Co., is undergoing a major transition. The

center experienced a high turnover rate among tenants before and after it

was sold by Capital & Counties USA Inc.

In addition to the two restaurants being sued by Triangle Square, the

following businesses have either left the center or declared bankruptcy:

Sfuzzi, Juice Connection and Ralphs.

However, since the beginning of this year, Whole Foods and That’s Aroma

have opened in Triangle Square. Also, major anchor The Yard House is

scheduled to open its doors later this month.

Howdy Kabrins, former owner of La Salsa, said his restaurant had problems

with the former owners of Triangle Square.

La Salsa was the last remaining plaintiff in a 1997 class-action lawsuit

brought against the former owners of the center after Juice Connection

and Chong’s settled.

That suit, which charged Triangle Square with mismanagement of the

center, has since been dismissed, Bosche said.

Kabrins said La Salsa’s business suffered at the center because the

project had been poorly conceived. Efforts to work with the new owners

failed as well, he said.

“We tried to work with the new ownership, but they weren’t able to

generate any traffic for us,” Kabrins said.