The patio at Campfire Lakewood at 840 Tabor St. (Courtesy Unique Properties)
Local restaurateur Jared Leonard said he plans to keep open his four remaining metro-area eateries, despite losing the real estate to one in a foreclosure sale and being hit with $2.3 million in court judgments and collection lawsuits over the past year.
Leonard and his wife Amanda, of Evergreen, own Campfire Lakewood and Campfire Evergreen, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q in south Denver and Grabowski’s Pizza in Lakewood. A fifth restaurant of theirs, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q Steakhouse near West Wash Park, closed in August.
Local court records imply it has been a tough time for the couple’s restaurant companies, Campfire Concepts and SSC Hospitality. Since August, there have been a dozen lawsuits and judgments filed against them by lenders, food suppliers and payroll firms, local court records show. .
Shamrock Foods has sued five times since the end of October, seeking more than $200,000. After an LLC registered to fellow restauranteur Alex Seidel sued in September to recoup on a $150,000 loan, Leonard never responded, so he was ordered to pay $495,000.
“Increased pricing on goods sold, rents, taxes, et cetera have had an impact on our business,” Leonard said. “We are, as everyone else in the industry, working through these challenges one by one. We do see topline sales stable, and are working on creating efficiencies in our purchasing, and haven’t increased prices at any of our stores for two years.”
In October, the Leonards lost the property that is home to Campfire Lakewood.
They originally listed the freestanding restaurant building at 840 Tabor St. for sale for $2.4 million in June. Marketing materials advertised a turnkey restaurant, which generally means a new restaurant owner would be able to easily move in and use existing fixtures.
Jared Leonard told BusinessDen at the time that he wanted someone to buy the building and lease it back to Campfire, a pizza and BBQ joint: “We want to keep operating and reinvest in our restaurant operations and less in the real estate, but we’re wanting to remain open.”
Behind the scenes, however, there was an additional factor. In late June, Denver-based Indicate Capital — a lender who had loaned SSC Hospitality $1 million in 2021 — filed to foreclose. It won the property through a foreclosure auction Oct. 24, county records show. The firm, which said it was owed $2.1 million by that point, submitted a credit bid of $1.89 million.
Campfire Lakewood continues to operate at the property. Leonard said that he plans to reach settlements with vendors who are owed money and keep finding ways to succeed.
“We pay above-average wages and offer fair pricing in our restaurants,” the restaurateur told BusinessDen, “which has made profits harder to achieve.”
The patio at Campfire Lakewood at 840 Tabor St. (Courtesy Unique Properties)
Local restaurateur Jared Leonard said he plans to keep open his four remaining metro-area eateries, despite losing the real estate to one in a foreclosure sale and being hit with $2.3 million in court judgments and collection lawsuits over the past year.
Leonard and his wife Amanda, of Evergreen, own Campfire Lakewood and Campfire Evergreen, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q in south Denver and Grabowski’s Pizza in Lakewood. A fifth restaurant of theirs, AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q Steakhouse near West Wash Park, closed in August.
Local court records imply it has been a tough time for the couple’s restaurant companies, Campfire Concepts and SSC Hospitality. Since August, there have been a dozen lawsuits and judgments filed against them by lenders, food suppliers and payroll firms, local court records show. .
Shamrock Foods has sued five times since the end of October, seeking more than $200,000. After an LLC registered to fellow restauranteur Alex Seidel sued in September to recoup on a $150,000 loan, Leonard never responded, so he was ordered to pay $495,000.
“Increased pricing on goods sold, rents, taxes, et cetera have had an impact on our business,” Leonard said. “We are, as everyone else in the industry, working through these challenges one by one. We do see topline sales stable, and are working on creating efficiencies in our purchasing, and haven’t increased prices at any of our stores for two years.”
In October, the Leonards lost the property that is home to Campfire Lakewood.
They originally listed the freestanding restaurant building at 840 Tabor St. for sale for $2.4 million in June. Marketing materials advertised a turnkey restaurant, which generally means a new restaurant owner would be able to easily move in and use existing fixtures.
Jared Leonard told BusinessDen at the time that he wanted someone to buy the building and lease it back to Campfire, a pizza and BBQ joint: “We want to keep operating and reinvest in our restaurant operations and less in the real estate, but we’re wanting to remain open.”
Behind the scenes, however, there was an additional factor. In late June, Denver-based Indicate Capital — a lender who had loaned SSC Hospitality $1 million in 2021 — filed to foreclose. It won the property through a foreclosure auction Oct. 24, county records show. The firm, which said it was owed $2.1 million by that point, submitted a credit bid of $1.89 million.
Campfire Lakewood continues to operate at the property. Leonard said that he plans to reach settlements with vendors who are owed money and keep finding ways to succeed.
“We pay above-average wages and offer fair pricing in our restaurants,” the restaurateur told BusinessDen, “which has made profits harder to achieve.”
