This article appeared in the Feb. 28 edition of the Daily Post. If you want all of the local news first, be sure to pick up a copy every morning.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Downtown landlord Elizabeth Wong has sued the city of Palo Alto and Coupa Cafe for setting up outdoor dining in front of her building on Ramona Street.
Wong, through her business Ramona Post LP, said Coupa Cafe’s tables and chairs are interfering with her tenants at 534 and 536 Ramona Street.
Wong “has suffered a significant loss of revenue and a diminution in the value of the building,” attorney Timothy Kassouni said in the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Wong’s tenants, Good Vibrations and April 23 Florist, have written letters to City Manager Ed Shikada complaining about Coupa Cafe’s outdoor dining setup, or parklet.
Coupa Cafe’s parklet at 538 Ramona Street extends for 31 feet beyond the building, Kassouni said.
Cafe owner Nancy Coupal said yesterday that Wong should be worried about all her other vacant buildings on University Avenue “which are an impediment to vibrancy in our downtown area.”
Coupal said Wong’s tenants have actually benefited from Coupa Cafe’s parklet bringing more foot traffic.
“Elizabeth Wong does not own the street or the sidewalk,” Coupal said.
Kassouni said Ramona Post LP is looking to get at least $600,000 from Coupal and the city. The business couldn’t finalize a lease for space in the building in 2022 because of the parklet, he said.
“The physical obstructions and presence of Coupa’s patrons on the parklet make it impractical for customers to patronize the shops,” Kassouni said.
The city allowed parklets starting in June 2020 because indoor dining was banned during the pandemic.
Wong filed a legal claim against the city on Sept. 21, 2022, demanding the city have Coupa Cafe’s parklet removed.
The city rejected the claim two months later, and Wong has complained in letters and at council meetings since then.
“I have been fighting this battle for three years, at least three years, went through different attorneys, and I’m still the victim of the parklet that Coupa Cafe puts in front of my building,” Wong told the Retail Committee on Dec. 18. “I just wonder why the city always waits until it’s litigated against in order for them to take any steps toward justice.”
The city allows parklets directly in front of a restaurant to have umbrellas or a roof, and the area extending beyond the frontage has to be uncovered.
The city has no comment on Wong’s lawsuit, city spokeswoman Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said in an email yesterday.
Wong isn’t the only landlord who doesn’t like parklets. Property owner Roxy Rapp told council in December that parklets are scaring potential tenants away, including New Balance, because they don’t want their storefronts or convenient parking blocked.
“Landlords should have some control in front of their property, and I can’t believe we lost that control,” Rapp said.
In an unrelated lawsuit, Wong is suing DPR Construction claiming the general contractor built her a leaky building and then walked off the job at 429 University Ave.
Council approved the building in December 2018 after four years of back and forth Wong. Heavy construction was done in early 2022 at the corner of University Avenue and Kipling Street.
DPR Construction is suing Wong, alleging she still owes $5 million on a $26 million contract.
Their subcontractors — electricians, architects, excavators, crane operators, window fabricators and elevator manufacturers — are suing them both, claiming they haven’t been paid for their work. Eleven lawsuits were filed, court records show.
Council on June 17 voted to extend Wong’s building permit for another 18 months.
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