We have received so many inquiries about why we left the Ridgewood Shopping Center after 30 great and very successful years that we decided to provide a brief explanation.
As was the practice in the past and in anticipation of continuing our business in the Ridgewood Shopping Center, we contacted the landlord, %%%%%% %%%%%%, in late May to discuss a new lease for the upcoming 5 year period. We were assured in June and again in August by Mr. %%%%%% that there was no trouble with the new lease for the Raleigh location. However, on October 10th we received the shocking news that our lease would not be renewed at the end of the year. This totally unexpected news came in a letter at our busiest time of the year and with such short notice that we had no time to try to relocate and continue to operate the Raleigh store.
We immediately advised our three Raleigh store managers, ***** *****, ******* ****, and **** ******* of the lease being terminated. They appeared to be devastated and could not understand how this could possibly happen. They pledged their dedication to The Wine Merchant and stated they would stick by us through the end of the year while trying to find new employment. Two of them asked for letters of recommendation, which we gave them.
We got more shocking news in early December when we then discovered that our three Raleigh managers had formed a corporation (Ridgewood Wine and Beer Company, LLC) on October 6th 2011 using The Wine Merchant address as their new corporation address. Before that date, they obviously negotiated with Mr. %%%%%% for our Raleigh (Ridgewood Shopping Center) location. They also set up the corporation and website while being paid by us and continued to deceive us for several months in order to keep their jobs.
This has been very difficult to understand and accept, but we move forward with great enthusiasm to grow our Cary store and to continue to be the leading wine store in the area for service and education. Our Cary store will provide free delivery in Raleigh and we want to thank all of you for your past and continued patronage of The Wine Merchant.
Apparently the dudes ran off with his business model and his business mailing address [and, no doubt, his customer list] all the while faking incredulity over it and continuing to be paid AND asking for fake references for fake new employment.
This is so outrageous it’s almost kinda hilarious [in the cynicism of its iniquity].
PS: You should add to the original post that this is The Wine Merchant in Raleigh, NC and NOT the much more well known Beverly Hills operation of the same name run by Dennis Overstreet.
Sure looks like the landlord pulled the rug from under this dude to allow these guys to do this. Wheres the loyalty? Open up next door? sure. But to take over the existing location, Wow!! Maybe there is more to the story, like negotiating a lower lease or…
I am shocked that everyone is so aghast that such could occur. Filthy dirty to be sure and I hope what goes around, comes around. I have a sister in law whose former in-laws stole their cement business away from the guy he was acting as sales rep for. Same thing for a guy who now owns a battery business I met during my bass fishing days. Both guys told me the story of how they set up their respective coups while they were selling for the guy they eventually screwed. Both happened in relatively sleepy little towns in Southern Ontario. They called it shrewd business; I call it lack of morality.
Well, I reckon I’ve spent my entire adult life gathering empirical evidence on that very matter, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the authoritative answer is: “It depends on whether or not you’re tone-deaf.”
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