West Seattle restaurants: ‘Cure or vacate’ notice posted at ex-Kokoras, citing ‘deplorable conditions’

(January 2018 photo)

The long-shuttered Morgan Junction restaurant Kokoras now has a notice hanging on the door. (Thanks for the tip!) It’s a letter from an attorney for the building’s owner, to the tenants who took over the restaurant two years ago, alleging they are in violation of the lease. Not a matter of nonpayment, according to the notice, which says the violation is that the building’s been closed and empty and allowed to deteriorate into what the notice describes as “deplorable conditions.” The notice mentions “pest droppings” found recently as well as a gallon of old cooking grease that’s allegedly been left to sit in there for a year. As reported here a year ago, the restaurant abruptly closed, first posting a notice attributing the shutdown to “employee conflict,” then undergoing what a worker we found at the site told us was “remodeling.” The newly posted notice alleges that work was unauthorized. Last January, we noted that a banner appeared outside the restaurant (top photo) with word of a “grand opening” for TeriFresh, the name by which the tenant operated an eatery in Maple Valley, according to what Kokoras’s then-manager told us in 2016. But no opening ensued, and the banner eventually vanished; this week’s notice says the building’s owner also was told of a reopening plan last January that didn’t happen. The notice – dated October 25th – says it’s giving the tenant 10 days to “cure” (fix the problems) or vacate; we’ve checked court files and aren’t seeing anything there yet.

15 Replies to "West Seattle restaurants: 'Cure or vacate' notice posted at ex-Kokoras, citing 'deplorable conditions'"

  • Trickycoolj October 30, 2018 (6:49 pm)

    Not long ago I was cruising Yelp for some out of the box dinner ideas and for some reason Kokoras kept popping up even though I knew it hadn’t been open in ages.   There were some pretty nasty pictures posted about a year ago (they’re still up) of the restaurant equipment, food, menus, refrigerator covered in mold.  Pretty sad outcome of what was an awesome neighborhood staple.

    • Peter October 30, 2018 (8:36 pm)

      I had to look it up. I wish I could unsee that. I used to eat there!

      • WSB October 30, 2018 (8:40 pm)

        For anybody new coming in to this story, sorry not to get into much backstory but it was complicated enough.

        Backstory: Kokoras was family owned and operated for many years.

        The family sold it to New Ownership #1. That didn’t work out. They made way for New Ownership #2. And that’s who the Property Owner claims is violating their lease.

  • Keri October 30, 2018 (9:33 pm)

    Perhaps WSB can set me straight, but there is very much a backstory to this.  Don’t blame Kokoras, all those glowing reviews are for the original owners.  Kokoras was originally taken over by the former owner of Meanders, which in my admittedly very biased opinion is exactly the reason this building is in the shape it is in.  I was not a West Seattle-ite who drank the Meander’s Kool-Aid.  Sincerely one of the worst eating out experiences I’ve ever had; a very greasy, expensive plate of food served up with a tremendous amount of attitude after several hours’ (literally) wait.  I wanted to like it.  Figured it wasn’t for me.  But the sad part was to watch them try to make it- first in the original location (Harry’s Chicken Joint) and then in White Center.  All the stories pointed to a very toxic situation that always seemed to end in “employee conflict” .   Very disappointing to watch them try to re-invent at Kokoras.  Not surprising to see it shutter so quickly. Unfortunate that the Kokoras name wasn’t dropped.  They should not be associated in any way.  

    • WSB October 30, 2018 (10:01 pm)

      The very-short-lived Meander’s revival co-proprietors are the New Ownership #1 to whom I alluded, but neither of those original partners has had any association with this in almost 2 years, after a post-original-Kokoras run of Meander’s that lasted only three months, as reported here. The current situation is strictly between the people who took over in 2016 (New Ownership #2) and the building ownership, if you go read the notice (which was still hanging off the door when I last passed by late in the day today). The restaurant remained open through the transitions until New Ownership #2 closed a year ago. – TR

    • Fascinated October 31, 2018 (8:53 am)

      “..a very greasy, expensive plate of food served up with a tremendous amount of attitude after several hours’ (literally) wait.”how is this possible? How could you wait for several hours (literally) for a plate of food? Several means 4+, right? Do you really have that little self-respect? Or are you a Yelp VIP? It’s almost impossible to believe anyone’s ridiculous criticism, as people as so bent on avenging their bad dining experience. 

  • Mike October 31, 2018 (5:51 am)

    So did this place have a ‘Good’ rating then from the inspector?  Looking at those Yelp photos, I’m so glad I never ate there.

  • flimflam October 31, 2018 (6:09 am)

    even though the original owners have nothing to do with this, its a shame their name has to even be associated with the mess the place turned into in such a short time.

  • Srge October 31, 2018 (9:31 am)

    So the tenants would rather just let it sit and go into disrepair while paying rent –  than break their lease?  Either they are deluded, completely disorganized, or there’s a serious penalty.  Right?

    • Fascinated October 31, 2018 (12:57 pm)

      I would assume the “cure” in this instance Is more comprehensive, than just back rent. 

  • ACG October 31, 2018 (2:30 pm)

    It’s a pretty teeny tiny space, but maybe Phoenicia could go there?

  • Trickycoolj October 31, 2018 (4:48 pm)

    Was thinking about this more today. I wonder if the lack of maintenance is impacting the neighboring business? Same landlord? 

  • Barry November 1, 2018 (11:11 am)

    Cant we get something like this done for the Hydrant? not that the conditions are “deplorable” by any means but its an eyesore with the weird sign “coming soon” and would be SO great to actually have something show up there! Seems unfair that someone can take over real estate and just leave it sitting on such a prime street/location….

    • HTB November 1, 2018 (2:43 pm)

      Yes please to the Hydrant. Either do something with the space or vacate!

  • Jim P. November 1, 2018 (2:14 pm)

    I’d have to imagine the decay and mess has gotten to the point where the people leasing the place may be unable to correct things and will just walk away from all this or file bankruptcy depending on how much of their personal ,money is involved.Opening and maintaining a restaurant properly costs a lot more money than inexperienced people estimate and a lot of people start small businesses of all sorts with inadequate capital and inadequate skills.Used to be a show called “Restaurant Impossible”, watch it if you can find reruns to see the level of mess people can get themselves into.

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