Boil & Roux, a popular Baton Rouge seafood lounge that recently settled a clash with city officials over its liquor license, is now in a legal battle with the owners of its property threatening to evict them.
Since December 2014, the embattled restaurant has leased the building and parking lot at its current location in the 1700 block of Coursey Boulevard. But Grand Wall Chinese Supper Buffet, the property’s Gonzales landlord, says Boil & Roux’s owner has failed to pay its $6,144-a-month rent since last June and the proprietor is renewing its push to have a judge kick the restaurant off the premises.
Attorneys for the parties gathered Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse for a summary judgement hearing on the landlord’s motion to evict Boil & Roux. Plaintiff attorney Jean-Paul Robert told the judge a notice wasn’t issued to Boil & Roux’s lawyer until late last week and he agreed to a continuance to allow defense attorneys time to prepare. He said that would also give attorneys on both sides time to discuss other issues in the interim.
District Judge Wilson Fields reset the hearing for a yet-to-be-determined date.
Grand Wall Chinese Supper Buffet filed its petition for the eviction Feb. 28. According to those court records, Boil & Roux never asked the landlord for permission to make renovations last year when it added a fence and constructed an outdoor patio. Those upgrades to the property led to code and ordinance violations levied by Baton Rouge city inspectors, the filing stated.
Grand Wall Chinese Supper Buffet says the renovations also violated the terms of the commercial lease agreement and served to further validate the motion for eviction. It’s not the first time the landlord has sought to sever its ties with Boil & Roux over non-payment.
Court records show Grand Wall Chinese Supper Buffet filed a November 2020 lawsuit asking the courts to initiate eviction proceedings, alleging the restaurant was nearly $18,000 behind on unpaid rent. The property owner also said Boil & Roux failed to retain renters’ commercial insurance and cited police calls to the property as evidence of ongoing criminal and illegal drug activity.
Judge Fields dismissed the petition after attorneys argued during a hearing in January 2021, according to 19th JDC minutes in the court record.
The East Baton Rouge Office of Alcohol Beverage and Control fined Boil & Roux $2,100 and suspended its liquor license for 60 days at the liquor board’s Feb. 22 meeting. After owner Maurice Walker filed for an injunction to stop the sanctions, parish attorney's office agreed last month to cut the restaurant's suspension period to 30 days and reissue Walker’s license if he paid the fine. The city is set to reinstate Walker's license by Thursday.