Shelves were empty and many of the store’s fixtures had already been sold on Saturday as The Nest Egg began the third day of its going-out-of business sale. Located on Sunset next to US Bank for nearly 10 years, the store is offering half-price discounts on all merchandise through January. Last Wednesday, owner Megan Kaufman was teary-eyed as she placed merchandise on tables before the start of the sale. Faced with a 60 percent rent increase, she made the decision to close. ‘To me, the quitting point is when you have to pass that increase onto your customers, and that’s not what my business is about,’ she said. ‘We’re a mom-and-pop store that’s affordable. If I had higher rent, the candles that I normally carry for $24 would cost $35.’ ‘We offered good quality merchandise that is reasonably priced for the majority of Palisades residents,’ said store manager Linda Wesson. This has been an emotional two years for Kaufman, a local resident who started negotiating a new lease in October 2006 with her landlord, Palisades Partners, representing the multifamily that owns numerous parcels on Swarthmore and Sunset. When Kaufman became co-owner of the business in 2003, she never received a copy of the lease. She asked for one for her latest negotiations, but was told by Palisades Partners that they didn’t have one either. After receiving the landlord’s proposal, Kaufman countered in November 2006, saying that she would pay for the installation of heating and air conditioning. She also asked that electrical problems be fixed because not all of the light fixtures on the ceiling worked. ‘We still can’t plug in a vacuum cleaner on one side of the store without blowing a fuse on the other,’ said Kaufman, who added that she also lost merchandise after rats moved into the building through vents. Last July, Kaufman received Palisades Partners’ counter proposal, which included the 60 percent rent increase. Kaufman was told the increase was so substantial because too much time had lapsed during negotiations. She thought about closing The Nest Egg in August, but her husband, Dan, offered to negotiate with the landlord. He made no headway. In November, a Palisades Partners’ representative and local realtor Gregg Pawlik showed the vacant space next door (formerly The Office Supplier) to a potential client. Afterwards they came into The Nest Egg to show that space as well. Kaufman said she was asked if the wall that separated the two stores was weight bearing. Kaufman told the Palisadian-Post she was upset that she was never given an advance call alerting her that the space would be shown and that her space was for rent. ‘The landlord can go into the property with a potential tenant any time they want because they have an ownership interest in the property,’ said local commercial real estate agent Gregg Pawlik, who shows property for Palisades Partners. Just before Christmas, it seemed unfair to Kaufman that when Palisades Partners gave concessions (advertising and parking validations) to Swarthmore tenants because of the empty storefronts on that street, she didn’t receive similar help. In a December 3 letter to Palisades Partners, Kaufman wrote, ‘I need to remind the landlords that I have been sitting next to a vacant eyesore for nearly three years, complete with torn awnings, trash from local eateries thrown in the empty planters, and old mail and flyers stuffed through the mail slot and left on the floor for weeks at a time.’ In her letter, she reiterated that she was unable to pay the 60 percent increase and questioned whether the landlord ever had intentions to negotiate with her. ‘If negotiations are possible,’ she wrote, ‘we are willing to continue. If negotiations have ceased, my intentions are to vacate The Nest Egg at the end of January 2008. Please advise as soon as possible.’ Kaufman said she never received a letter or a call. An insurance adjuster who came in to measure The Nest Egg told Kaufman that a woman’s clothing store was moving into her space and The Office Supply space. Although Kaufman had suspicions that this might happen, it was the first confirmation she had that her lease was not being renewed. ‘That will make it 16 women’s stores in the Palisades,’ she noted. Repeated calls by the Post to Palisades Partners were not returned. Kaufman and her husband have four children. Nick, a graduate of UC Berkeley, is in the process of applying to architectural schools; Jamie, who has a volleyball scholarship at High Point University in North Carolina, will graduate this May; Chris is in ninth grade at Palisades Charter High School; and Katie is a seventh grader at Corpus Christi.
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