THE operators of commercial complex 88th Avenue in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City have pre-terminated the contract of lease with F Café and Bar less than a month after the latter’s personnel were involved in a brawl that resulted in the mauling of a British chef and restaurateur.
In a letter dated Jan 2, 2023, the management of 88th Avenue Holdings said it had decided to pre-terminate its contract of lease with the establishment due to a “recent controversy.”
“Recent controversy which involved your establishment and which has become viral has made us decide to avail of the provisions of Paragraph XIX on Pre-Termination in all our Contracts of Lease,” the letter said.
The management of F Café and Bar was given 60 days from Jan. 2 before its contract of lease is formally terminated.
Francis Lee, owner of F Café and Bar, confirmed to SunStar Cebu on Friday, Jan. 27, that they had received the notice from Jeff and Jenny 88th Avenue Holdings OPC.
But Lee has yet to divulge their plans now that 88th Avenue has terminated their contract of lease.
F Café and Bar was embroiled in a controversy after Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia accused its personnel of mauling British chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton last December.
In a Facebook post on Dec. 28, 2022, Garcia said she was dismayed by the restobar’s management after some of its workers reportedly held Atherton so that he couldn’t fight back.
Atherton, a Michelin Star-awarded chef, was with his family at the restobar on Dec. 23 when he reportedly demanded that a group of men apologize to his 17-year-old daughter for allegedly harassing her. This led to a brawl inside the restobar, which resulted in Atherton sustaining bruises on his face.
Garcia’s nephew, Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, called on the Cebu City Police Office to investigate the allegations against the establishment.
Later, the governor called on the National Bureau of Investigation to initiate a probe on who started the brawl.
In a statement released on Dec. 28 to deny the governor’s allegations, F Café and Bar said the incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 24 and that based on closed-circuit television footage, Atherton initiated the attack.
“Everything was fine and peaceful at the bar that night when its security personnel noticed a commotion inside coming from certain customers that included Chef Atherton. A melee ensued and the natural reaction of security was to go between the parties to ensure that nobody got hurt and to pacify them. The manager, who just had an eye operation, also went to ensure that security was on top of the situation,” F Café and Bar said.
Atherton was awarded the Michelin Star for the Pollen Street Social. He owns restaurants in various parts of the world, including Pig and Palm in Cebu. (EIVER KY VILLEGAS, USJ-R INTERN)