Eviction hearing held in Wheelhouse Diner dispute: Here's what we learned

QUINCY − A judge said he will appoint a mediator to reconcile differences between the owner of the Wheelhouse Diner, LeeAnn McDonough, and her landlord, Hancock Realty Trust LLC, which is seeking to evict her.

McDonough's lawyer, Christopher Carroll, said she was "feeling blindsided" by the process that led to the eviction proceedings.

Through its property manager Helen Shiner, owner Hancock Realty Trust LLC, whose principal is Ciahua Chen, has expressed plans to build a multistory building with a diner on the first floor. Construction wouldn't begin for three to five years, Shiner said. Chen bought the property at 453 Hancock St. for $1.5 million.

McDonough told The Patriot Ledger that she wants to continue operating the Wheelhouse Diner until the owner demolishes the current building, which was constructed in 1946 in the style of a streetcar. Shiner said the landlord wants to move forward with a different tenant while keeping a diner on the site.

"They're going to develop the spot," Carroll said. "That's understandable. But in the meantime, their representative property manager said they're going to bring in another restaurant to operate. So I'm trying to help this person who's given her heart and soul for many years."

Representing the landlord, lawyer Kimberly Kroha said that after the business sold in January 2023, McDonough made "a lot of late payments ... that have continued."

At the hearing, McDonough said she's been making regular rent payments.

Kroha said that in June, the landlord sent McDonough a letter offering to allow her to stay beyond August, provided she make monthly rent payments of $4,000, up 60% from the $2,500 she had been paying.

"(McDonough) didn't do that," Kroha said.

The Wheelhouse Diner operates on a "tenancy-at-will" agreement, which involves no written lease, where the tenant occupies the property with the landlord's permission as long as she pays rent every month.

McDonough told The Patriot Ledger that she offered to pay more in rent, but not the full 60% increase requested by the landlord.

Quincy District Court Judge Mark Coven expressed sympathy for McDonough's situation.

"I feel very bad about everything you're telling me about Ms. McDonough and her employees and her ongoing business," he said. "I'm going to suggest I bring in a mediator and have you all come into court with your clients, and we'll have a full mediation."

The mediation session is scheduled for Feb. 29 at 10 a.m.

How this dispute ended up in court

Shiner told The Patriot Ledger that she has had little contact with McDonough since the complaint was filed, except for a request for rent and water bill payments.

McDonough, who bought the Wheelhouse Diner 12 years ago, said she struggled to make timely rent payments for two months after the January 2023 sale, largely due to economic challenges created by the pandemic. She said the diner enjoyed a rebound last March, allowing her to pay arrears and start looking to the future with optimism.

Shiner told The Patriot Ledger that she cannot comment on matters related to rent and other factors motivating the eviction.

"The problems that have existed there all along continue to exist," she said.

In June 2023, McDonough received an eviction notice from the landlord. Shiner said McDonough was given until Oct. 8 to make arrangements and leave on her own terms.

That deadline came and went. McDonough stayed, prompting Chen and Shiner to issue another notice, this time for Dec. 1.

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When that deadline passed and McDonough continued to operate the diner, Chen's attorney Kimberly Kroha served McDonough with the court summons.

'Not everything historical should disappear.' McDonough wants to stay until diner is torn down

On Tuesday, during the lunch-hour crush, McDonough bustled behind the counter alongside her staff. In perpetual motion, she worked at a large griddle filling orders of burgers and club sandwiches simultaneously.

She told The Patriot Ledger that an ideal resolution would allow her to stay until the owner is ready to tear the diner down and rebuild.

McDonough said she's offered to pay a higher rent, adding that the cost of changing places, both in terms of expenses and harm to her brand, could prove insurmountable.

"Half the charm is the building itself," she said. "I can take the name, the food, the people, it's still not going to be the same."

McDonough compared the Wheelhouse Diner's fight to Quincy's broader experience of rapid change and redevelopment.

"It's a historical city," she said. "Not everything historical should disappear."

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Eviction hearing Jan. 18 for 76-year-old Wheelhouse Diner