Legal Sea Foods to leave Reagan, files lawsuit
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
July 2, 2009
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National Airport's most popular restaurant,
Legal Sea Foods has asked a judge in Alexandria's federal court to prevent another concession from taking the space. The space is expected to be taken over by Sam & Harry's steakhouse, the airport authority said in June.
"It's unfortunate that a lawsuit is being pursued and [Legal Sea Foods] was not able to reach a business agreement," said airport authority spokesman Rob Yingling. "The specific issues of the lawsuit will be addressed in a courtroom."
The Boston-based chain has been in Reagan since 1997 and has won seven awards during that time. According to the lawsuit, it's one of the top revenue-producing concessions at the airport and is a flagship restaurant for the chain.
The dispute over its lease started in spring 2008, when Legal began negotiations for a new lease with Concession Management, the company hired by the airport authority to handle concession leases, court documents said. The original lease ended in December, but Legal obtained an extension to August.
Legal claims that throughout the negotiations, it was operating "in the dark" because neither the airport authority nor Westfield had made public the requirements for signing a lease for the space. The restaurant also claims the authority and Westfield did not provide information regarding other proposals. Legal's attorneys assert the authority violated the law by conducting "a completely closed and secret selection process."
At the center of the lease negotiations was a demand by the airport authority that Legal expand the airport restaurant, court documents said. The negotiations broke down when the restaurant and airport authority could not agree on a timeline for construction, Legal Sea Food spokesman Michael Meehan told The Examiner. The airport authority wanted Legal to shut down from August through November for the renovations. Legal wanted to make the changes in two phases and keep its doors open.
The airport authority refused, Meehan said.
Legal Sea Foods filed the lawsuit because "it wants to get to the bottom of what happened," Meehan said.
