Short's Burger in downtown Iowa City closing its doors as owner claims discrimination

Lease issues have a downtown staple battling to keep its doors open.

Short's Burger and Shine in downtown Iowa City will permanently close after a Johnson County judge ruled that the business did not renew its lease in time, ending a 16-year run.

Johnson County Magistrate Judge Christopher Foster ordered Short's to vacate the building by Saturday, Feb. 10 for "failure to renew a lease," punctuating a lengthy legal dispute between Short's's owners Kevin Perez and Dan Ouverson and the building owners, MidWestOne Bank, and the Haywood Belle Trust.

Short's opened at 18 S. Clinton Street in 2008 with the goal to honor the legacy and story of former building owner H.D. Short, who shined shoes for 50 years beginning in 1920.

The restaurant pays homage to Short with a story on its menu and through photographs on the walls.

The business is no stranger to legal battles, having been locked in four different court cases since 2022.

Short's briefly closed in 2022 for what owners said was the building's poor condition. The restaurant was closed for three months for a "facelift" and reopened as students returned to campus.

Short's original ownership group included Perez, Ouverson and former Hawkeye and NFL player Nate Kaeding, who now runs the Gold Cap Hospitality ownership group.

The hamburger joint has two other locations, one on Iowa City's eastside at Westbury Drive, which opened in 2012 as well as a spot in Marion, which opened in 2019.

TripAdvisor picked Short's for its "Best burger in Iowa" award in 2018. In 2015, Thrillist named the burger the best in Iowa. That same year, College Raptor, a college-planning website, named it one of the top 15 college-town burger joints in America.

UPDATE: Perez and the ownership group at Short's confirmed in a press release Thursday evening that they filed an appeal with Johnson County. They said the motion will allow Short's Downtown to stay open through the appeal process. Court records confirm that an appeal was filed on Feb. 7. A judge ruled "execution of writ of possession" is stayed dependent on the outcome.

More: Judge orders stay in Short's legal battle, allowing downtown Iowa City location to remain open

Structural and professional issues plague Short's

Haywood Belle, the grandson of H.D. Short, owned the building when Short's opened its original location 16 years ago.

Perez said the structure started to fall into disrepair after Belle's death in 2016.

“My relationship was with Haywood Belle," Perez said in a statement provided to the Press-Citizen. "He treated everyone with respect. After he died, the bank and his widow started letting the building rot which confused me because Haywood was so proud of his building."

A legal battle spilled into the public eye in April 2022, when Short's announced its downtown location was closing.

Perez said he used that brief 2022 closure to invest nearly $60,000 in renovations, which he said he would not have done if he hadn't planned on renewing the restaurant lease.

More: Former Iowa City firefighter calls for better work conditions after harassment lawsuit settled

Bench trial reveals Short's did not renew lease on time

Issues with the building lease found their way into the courtroom in four separate cases, the first of which began around the same time as the 2022 renovations.

That initial case was dismissed, but MidWestOne brought additional litigation against Perez — including the case for "breach of contract" — arguing that Perez and Ouverson had not provided written notice that they were renewing their lease in a timely fashion and that they were going to evict the tenants.

Lawyers for Short's argued that ownership's intent to renew was "clear" and that it was not required to provide written notice until after the conclusion of MidWestOne's first lawsuit. They also argued that MidWestOne did not have grounds to file the suit.

The most recent case made it to a bench trial, unlike previous litigation between the two entities.

As part of the lease agreement between Short's and MidWestOne, written notice of "intent to renew the lease" is required every three years. The most recent written notice was required by Jan. 30, 2023.

The judge determined that Short's did not provide a written notice until March 10, 2023, more than a month after the deadline.

In testimony, Dennis Mitchell, a trust officer at MidWestOne, said intent to renew had been expressed orally in 2017 and via email in 2020. Mitchell also said MidWestOne would have accepted an oral expression of intent to renew, but that was never given.

Perez testified that he did provide oral notice, though judge Foster said the "intent to exercise its option (to renew) are all ambiguous or otherwise subject to interpretation."

The judge said the only time that Shorts provided "a definite, unequivocal and unqualified determination that it intended to exercise its option to renew the lease" was five weeks after the deadline, on March 10.

Lawyers for Short's argued that ownership believed delivering a written decision any earlier would have potentially been "a futile act."

Foster partially disagreed, saying it would have only taken a few minutes to write and send a written notice of intent to renew the lease, even if Short's ownership felt the act was or would be pointless.

"Ultimately, the outcome of this litigation rests on whether Short's was excused from its obligation toinform (MidWestOne) in writing whether it wished to exercise its right to extend its lease for another threeyears," Foster wrote in his decision. "Unfortunately for Short's, it was not."

Foster said that, as a result, the lease agreement between MidWestOne and Short's ended in April 2023. He gave the business roughly 10 days from the time of the ruling to vacate the premises, which was made last Wednesday, Jan. 31.

Perez says fight isn't over, suggests discrimination

Short's is appealing the ruling but will close the business by Saturday. Perez invites the community to stop in for a "final toast" before they close their doors.

Perez, who has owned businesses in downtown Iowa City with his wife for more than three decades, said he is saddened by the closure and worries about where his employees will end up.

Perez and his lawyer, Shawn Shearer have also accused MidWestOne and Sarah Wallace-Belle, the widow of Haywood Belle, of discrimination, with Perez alleging they "have problems with a tenant being Hispanic and that has become clear."

“I have repeatedly asked MidWestOne Bank to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for their treatment of my client and one has not been provided," Shearer said in a statement. "There is still litigation pending in this case and we are appealing Magistrate Foster’s decision.

Then we have civil rights issues to litigate, so this is not over by a long shot.”

Litigation remains ongoing in a separate case brought by Perez and his attorney regarding a breach of contract and alleged malicious prosecution by MidWestOne and the Belle Trust.

A jury trial is set to begin on July 16.

“I may be gone from this space for now, but I assure you I will continue to fight for myself, my family, my employees, Haywood Belle, H.D. Short and their ancestors," Perez said in a statement. "Downtown Iowa City needs to be for everyone.”

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Short's Burgers in downtown Iowa City closing its doors after 16 years