-----Original Message----- From: Martinez, Mike [Council Member] Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 9:31 AM To: Shaw, Margaret Cc: Garza, Bobby; Moore, Andrew; Leffingwell, Lee; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl; Snipes, Anthony Subject: FYI Primizie Osteria Mark and Lisa, This is really disappointing news. But before I offer any more opinions, I would like to get an update from staff on this issue. Margaret, can you please provide any info or relay any info you have from ARA. Thanks, Mike Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez 310 W. 2nd Street Austin, Texas 512.974.2264 -----Original Message----- From: Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 1:11 PM To: Leffingwell, Lee; Martinez, Mike [Council Member]; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl Subject: Submitted from City Council web site - FYI Primizie Osteria Date/Time Submitted: 1311 hours From: Dana E-mail address: Subject: FYI Primizie Osteria Categories: Comments: I apologize for the mass email but we really wanted to try to contact people individually but from all the emails and messages we are getting I thought we better let everyone know ASAP. With that said, it is with heavy hearts that we have to tell you that Mark and I have decided to close Primizie Osteria for business. Although the down economy has not done us any favors, the main reason for our decision is that our landlord, Austin Revitalization Authority, refused to renegotiate the terms of our lease to make them more aligned with industry averages, the location and the density of the area. All of our decisions and projections for the restaurant were based on four multi-use developments which were to have been completed on the 11th/12th street corridors. As you probably know from the countless articles on the development of this area, the City of Austin and the Austin Revitalization Authority have failed to deliver on all accounts. We do not foresee any of these projects coming on line within the next 5 years to increase the density of the area to the degree that was projected. Since the fixed costs associated with that space were not going to allow us to reach the profit levels we needed we felt the smartest business move was to close the location. As you can imagine this was a very difficult decision to make but definitely the right one. Primizie Catering, which was started over 9 years ago, remains stable and profitable so that is where we will put our attentions. So if you are a past or present client you can still expect the same service, food quality and ability to produce amazing events that we have built our reputation on. We are very proud of what we created with Primizie Osteria and feel Austin has lost a true gem. We currently do not have plans to relocate the restaurant but hopefully you will see us again in another incarnation of Primizie soon. We want to thank you for all the support you have given us over the years. Feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions. Happy New Year and looking forward to a great 2010! Lisa & Mark Spedale Lisa s Cell 512.922.6169 Mark s Cell 512.925.0674 From: Martinez, Mike [Council Member] Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 9:37 AM To: 'Lee Leffingwell'; Matt Curtis Cc: Mark Nathan; Nathan, Mark; Rick Cofer; Williamson, Laura Subject: RE: Another good year, great photo Let me know if we need to work on getting printed copies Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez 310 W. 2nd Street Austin, Texas 512.974.2264 From: Lee Leffingwell Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 6:30 PM To: Matt Curtis Cc: Martinez, Mike [Council Member]; Mark Nathan; Nathan, Mark; Rick Cofer Subject: Re: Another good year, great photo I like this one. Let's get some 8X10 copies? Cofer looks like he's not totally committed; Martinez "showboating" a tad. LL On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 5:35 PM, Matt Curtis wrote: http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/polar-bear-club-010110/ -- Matt Curtis cell: 512-983-5347 twitter.com/mattcurtis -----Original Message----- From: Martinez, Mike [Council Member] Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 10:04 AM To: Snipes, Anthony; Shaw, Margaret Cc: Garza, Bobby; Moore, Andrew; Leffingwell, Lee; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl; Ott, Marc; Williamson, Laura Subject: RE: FYI Primizie Osteria Thanks so much Anthony. I would like to set up the update meeting soon. Let's try for next week if that works for you all. Mike Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez 310 W. 2nd Street Austin, Texas 512.974.2264 -----Original Message----- From: Snipes, Anthony Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 10:00 AM To: Martinez, Mike [Council Member]; Shaw, Margaret Cc: Garza, Bobby; Moore, Andrew; Leffingwell, Lee; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl; Ott, Marc Subject: RE: FYI Primizie Osteria Mayor Pro-Tem, We would be glad to provide you with an update. It is my understanding that ARA is in the process of putting another restaurant in place of Primizie in the near future. According to the ARA Board, they tried to work with Mark and Lisa with no success. The restaurant owed ARA in back-rent totalling $50,000 - $70,000. As you know, non-profits can not sustain non-payment to this extent and survive. The ARA Board did not want to have another Ms. B's occur; however they did make a concerted effort to make this work. Even with Primizie's non-payment and partial payments over several months, it was the restaurant and not ARA that made the decision to vacate. According to the Board Chair, ARA is making immediate moves to fill all of their space by the end of January. Additionally, staff has been meeting with ARA, Anderson CDC, and the URB to have public meetings and visioning sessions for the corridor. Lastly, staff and I have met with all of the Boards regarding some immediate solutions to get things moving in the corridor. Our hope is to come back to you in March with an update of those meetings and a proposed strategy to move forward. Thanks. -----Original Message----- From: Martinez, Mike [Council Member] Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 9:31 AM To: Shaw, Margaret Cc: Garza, Bobby; Moore, Andrew; '[email protected]'; Leffingwell, Lee; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl; Snipes, Anthony Subject: FYI Primizie Osteria Mark and Lisa, This is really disappointing news. But before I offer any more opinions, I would like to get an update from staff on this issue. Margaret, can you please provide any info or relay any info you have from ARA. Thanks, Mike Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez 310 W. 2nd Street Austin, Texas 512.974.2264 -----Original Message----- From: Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 1:11 PM To: Leffingwell, Lee; Martinez, Mike [Council Member]; Riley, Chris; Shade, Randi; Morrison, Laura; Spelman, William; Cole, Sheryl Subject: Submitted from City Council web site - FYI Primizie Osteria Date/Time Submitted: 1311 hours From: Dana E-mail address: Subject: FYI Primizie Osteria Categories: Comments: I apologize for the mass email but we really wanted to try to contact people individually but from all the emails and messages we are getting I thought we better let everyone know ASAP. With that said, it is with heavy hearts that we have to tell you that Mark and I have decided to close Primizie Osteria for business. Although the down economy has not done us any favors, the main reason for our decision is that our landlord, Austin Revitalization Authority, refused to renegotiate the terms of our lease to make them more aligned with industry averages, the location and the density of the area. All of our decisions and projections for the restaurant were based on four multi-use developments which were to have been completed on the 11th/12th street corridors. As you probably know from the countless articles on the development of this area, the City of Austin and the Austin Revitalization Authority have failed to deliver on all accounts. We do not foresee any of these projects coming on line within the next 5 years to increase the density of the area to the degree that was projected. Since the fixed costs associated with that space were not going to allow us to reach the profit levels we needed we felt the smartest business move was to close the location. As you can imagine this was a very difficult decision to make but definitely the right one. Primizie Catering, which was started over 9 years ago, remains stable and profitable so that is where we will put our attentions. So if you are a past or present client you can still expect the same service, food quality and ability to produce amazing events that we have built our reputation on. We are very proud of what we created with Primizie Osteria and feel Austin has lost a true gem. We currently do not have plans to relocate the restaurant but hopefully you will see us again in another incarnation of Primizie soon. We want to thank you for all the support you have given us over the years. Feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions. Happy New Year and looking forward to a great 2010! Lisa & Mark Spedale Lisa s Cell 512.922.6169 Mark s Cell 512.925.0674 From: Martinez, Mike [Council Member] Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 2:50 PM To: City Hall Subject: Please help Please help find my owner....I last saw her (him) near the east side stairwell of city hall.