The Eatery moving from Court Street after eviction

Craig Fox, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Updated ·2 min read
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Nov. 2—WATERTOWN — A Court Street restaurant that's being evicted will be moving to and sharing space with another downtown location.

Christin D. Filippelli, who opened The Eatery at 168 Court St. last April, was notified by her landlord, Stephen J. Bradley, that he wants her off the premises in 10 days.

She owes him over $10,000 in back rent and has not paid rent since at least July, according to court papers.

Ms. Filippelli has an arrangement with the owner of Empire Square to share space in the Public Square restaurant that opened in 2021.

"I've been thinking about doing this before I was evicted," she said, adding that she had hoped to talk to her landlord to work things out.

Ms. Filippelli will operate Empire Square for breakfasts, lunches and dinners on Mondays and from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday, serving breakfasts, lunches and an afternoon menu. She's bringing her staff with her, while Empire Square employees will continue working there.

Vonnette T. Monteith, owner of Empire Square, will take over after 4 p.m. and serve dinners Tuesday through Friday and all day on weekends.

The arrangement is new to Watertown but restaurants in New York City, Florida and elsewhere are sharing space as they have come out the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Filippelli said.

It's also allowing her to take on an intern, a Fort Drum soldier who's leaving the service and will work at the restaurant under a new program with the Army, she said.

The landlord and tenant had multiple disagreements over how construction for a larger space next door was going to be handled.

The dispute has been blamed for The Eatery not expanding into the larger space at 170 Court St. that would have been turned into a banquet facility for wedding receptions, business meetings and special events.

Mr. Bradley, who also owns Abbey Carpet at 150 Court St., has also renovated five upstairs apartments.

Mr. Bradley obtained a $990,000 Restore New York grant to help finance the more than $2 million project. Both he and Ms. Filippelli also have loans with the Watertown Local Development Corp., also known as the Watertown Trust.