110 W. New York Ave.
DeLand, FL 32720
386-734-4622
BEACON PHOTO/PAT ANDREWS
Operator wanted — Artisan Inn is seeking a new operator after a lease dispute with its tenant Anafit Inc.
By Pat Andrews
posted Feb 25, 2013 - 9:35:53am
A court case that’s dragged on since early last year involving a Downtown DeLand landmark has finally been resolved.
Artisan Inn owner Chryst Soety said tenant Anafit Inc., which had converted the second floor of the historic hotel into a nightclub, is gone.
“I can’t talk about it,” Berube said. “It’s all in court.”
The Soetys and Berube had a dispute over the lease.
Court records show that, on Jan. 30, a court order directed Anafit Inc. to deposit $79,584.11 of rent into the court registry no later than Feb. 4.
The money was not paid, said attorney Glenn Storch, of Storch and Harris. The law firm, which did not draft the original lease, represented building owners Chryst and John Soety.
The Soetys painstakingly restored the long-vacant 1924 property in the late 1990s, and operated it themselves for several years before leasing it.
“My understanding is, my clients are back in possession,” Storch said. “The owners were able to get a court order. Hopefully, things are back where they ought to be.”
What will the Soetys do with the Artisan Inn now?
“We won’t be reopening ourselves, personally,” Chryst Soety said.
The couple has listed the Artisan Inn for sale or lease with The Baumgartner Co.
Chryst Soety said she hopes someone who can put some TLC into the historic property will be interested in taking it over.
Whatever happens at the Artisan will be one more step in the current development of what’s being called the SoNY district in Downtown DeLand — south of New York Avenue.
Activity in the district includes the conversion of the old Mr. Lucky’s Restaurant at 413 S. Woodland Blvd. into a fitness studio, and Florida Victorian Antiques owner Mark Shuttleworth renovating the house at 117 W. Howry Ave., just off South Woodland Boulevard. Also, Anna Bananas owners Diane and Shannon Venturini recently bought the former NAPA auto-parts building at 128 S. Woodland Blvd.
Roger Baumgartner said there are already a couple of people interested in the Artisan.
“We showed it the other day,” he said.
The Baumgartner Co. wants to find just the right tenant or owner for the Artisan, one who will appreciate it and care for the historic inn, he said.
The Soetys weren’t the only ones less than happy with how the property has been managed recently.
The City of DeLand brought code-enforcement action against Berube for unauthorized stages erected in the parking lot, and the MainStreet DeLand Association had problems with rock music blasting from the stage, especially when an all-day and all-night heavy-metal festival was scheduled there during the Fall Festival of the Arts. That music event was later relocated.
At a magistrate’s hearing Sept. 27, City of DeLand building officials said the oversized and not-permitted stage had been used almost every weekend since the city sent a first notice of violation in early August.
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People seldom go to Deland to shop from Orange City, Debary, and Deltona. They go shopping close to the homes or go to Seminole county. Deland has the business of the population north of Orange Camp/Mcgregor Rd. South of there lives 150,000 people and business is going to locate where these people are living. Some in Deland think that sabotaging those to their south is there only hope. Perhaps focusing on Deland, lake Helen, Deleon Springs and rural county lands in their area might be of more benefit.
I hope they find a person with vision and who wants to serve the people who will live in the area so that the Artisan is not torn down for parking.
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