The owners of the UFO Factory bar on Trumbull in Detroit's Corktown, has had a contentious relationship with the company building a development next door. They've fought in court over property rights.
So, some wonder whether it was really an accident when late Wednesday morning a construction crew for Soave Enterprises, working on the $150 million mixed-use Elton Park development, seriously damaged the UFO Factory building. The fire marshal has deemed it unfit for occupancy and now it's unclear if it will ever reopen considering the walls are seriously damaged and the roof dropped a few inches.
"This sounds liks BS. The city got rid of the 2500 Club and the Comet and looks like they're doing the same to this since he wouldn't sell," writes James Banasky of Monroe Community College in the comment section of a Detroit Free Press story.
Echoes reader Debbie Haynes of Harrison Township: "Well let's see, he refused to sell last week and then this!!!"
Co-owner Dion Fischer, in an interview with Tom Perkins of Metro Times, stops short of saying it was intentional, but has no clue as to how it could have happened.
"Judging by our past interactions, I don't think they have our best interest in mind," he says.
Metro Times, citing "multiple sources close to the situation," confirms that Soave recently presented a "lowball" offer to buy UFO Factory. The owners said no, Fox 2's Taryn Asher reports.
The two sides have been involved in lawsuits and countersuits since late 2016.
Metro Times reports:
UFO Factory opened in 2014, and Fischer and wife Aliccia Bollig-Fischer have owned the building since 2010.
Court records show that UFO Factory filed a suit in December in which it asked a judge to allow it to continue using land that Soave owned. Soave purchased all three parcels that border UFO Factory's property in 2014 and later barred UFO Factory from using what had become his property for dumpster and grease disposal. In its Third Circuit Court complaint, UFO Factory contended that complying with the order would result in irreparable harm, but a judge dismissed the case.
Soave then filed a countersuit, alleging that UFO Factory's ownership benefited financially from trespassing on Soave property, and sought damages of $615,000. That case was dropped in April.
UFO Factory established a GoFundMe page to help employees, posting the link on Facebook with this message:
So yeah - UFO FACTORY is closed for an indefinite amount of time --- watch our Facebook and www.ufofactory.com for updates rescheduled and relocated events etc ... 2110 TRUMBULL is just a building and address ... it might seem a little sappy but UFO FACTORY is really a bigger thing ... It Can't exist without - not just the vision but the people, the UFO PEOPLE ... the artists, musicians, the DJs, every dang person that eats a hot dog or drinks a beer or checks out the band ... And most importantly the beautiful UFO staff ... they have persevered and worked just as hard anyone involved to make UFO real ... they don't have income now ... my hiring system has always had as much to do with choosing folks that I can stand to see EVERY DAY (i.e. Friends or future friends) as actual job qualifications --- selfishly I want everyone one of em BACK when we figure out what the heck is gonna happen and --- these unbelievable thoughtful community created options will hopefully make their lives a bit easier for the near future.
The campaign has raised more than $17,000 as of Saturday morning.
