Eviction proceedings held Friday went in favor of one tenant but not the other; both have since left the downtown Phoenix food kitchen project
Two of the five original occupants at the Phoodery project in downtown Phoenix moved out of their rental kitchens over the weekend, one due to eviction and another — despite winning an eviction hearing — moving out by choice.
Flying Flatbread owners Alec Hurdle and Ali Tarraf, and Ma’s BBQ owner David Folmar appeared before Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Tim Barnack for an hours-long eviction hearing filed by Phoodery LLC, which according to state record is registered to real estate broker Eric Herron and business owners Tom and Lisa Beam. The Beams are the owners of Skout Taphouse, which operates a location inside the Phoodery but also manages the Phoodery.
The Phoodery, which marked a full year in business this past summer, offers permanent, tiny-house-sized kitchens in a sort of upscale food truck pod approach. The project, which opened in July 2024, revamped a formerly dilapidated part of downtown Phoenix and was the result of a public-private partnership from which property owners obtained the parcel from the Phoenix Urban Renewal Agency for $1.
Three tenants spoke out in August — Flying Flatbread and Ma’s BBQ in addition to Wok Star owner Russell Evans — saying common area maintenance fees, known as CAMs, had been on a steady and unexpectedly steep increase.
While anticipated to be between $1,150 and $1,300, fees ranged — between July 2024 and July 2025 — as high as more than $4,800 above monthly base rent, more than four times the expected amount.
Phoodery owners contended that a limit for CAM fees had never been written into contracts, despite tenants claims that verbal agreements and emails show the anticipated range.
Phoodery owners said CAM fees increased based on expenses and foot traffic to the Phoodery, while tenants claimed fees increased regardless of whether the venue had been busy or not.
The Rogue Valley Times confirmed that four of the five tenants had stopped paying full CAM costs in recent months but paid originally-agreed-upon amounts, they said, as a show of good faith.
In court on Friday, attorney Milan Hanson, who represented Ma’s BBQ and Flying Flatbread, pointed out that while four tenants had stopped paying the increased CAM fees, only two were evicted, which he told the court seemed retaliatory.
Judge Barnack said differential treatment of tenants was not the issue at hand and that he would not rule on whether the contracts — which did not include a cap on CAM fees despite what tenants said they were told — signed by the tenants were fair or not.
Folmar testified that he initially declined to open his restaurant inside the Phoodery because CAM fees of between $1,150 and $1,300 were “already pretty steep,” but that Phoodery owners urged him to open inside the Phoodery and that things could be “figured out.”
All told, the case rested on a technicality that had to do with writing of rent checks. Flying Flatbread, in the memo field of the check, specified how much of the check was for rent and how much was for CAM fees, while Folmar wrote “rent and CAM fees” in the memo field.
Phoodery management refunded $1,150 to each restaurant — the intended original CAM fee amount — and served formal eviction notices Sept. 11.
Barnack on Friday said there was no designation regarding how much was paid for the two items on the check written by Ma’s BBQ while the check for Flying Flatbread differentiated the two amounts. Barnack ruled in Ma’s BBQ’s favor but upheld the eviction against Flying Flatbread.
The Beams did not respond to a request for comment by the Times.
Herron, in a message to the Times on Monday, reiterated that the CAM fees were “shared expenses and (based on) purchases that were decided on by the tenants and they agreed to pay one-sixth of.”
He noted, “Those (five) restaurants did a combined $3.2 million in sales for their first year of business. $3,900 per month of shared expenses that they all met two times a month and voted for is not a landlord/tenant issue. The landlord took their direction, paid for the services requested by the group of tenants and then passed on the shared expense with NO markup, fees, OH (overhead) or profit to the tenants and paying their one-sixth as well.”
Herron said Phoodery management was “looking forward to a new chapter at the Phoodery and stay tuned for great tenants going in soon.”
Folmar said Sunday that he had already planned to vacate over the weekend, prior to the eviction hearing, out of a desire to “not remain in a bad situation” and because he anticipated eviction efforts would continue despite the verdict in his favor on Friday.
Folmar said he followed through with the court hearing in hopes of being awarded attorney fees and to support colleagues at Flying Flatbread.
Folmar said he had concerns for future Phoodery tenants.
“They’re gonna learn the hard way. Food kitchens don’t make enough money to pay what they’re trying to charge. … We almost didn’t move in because of how much it was going to be. But they said they wanted us in here and to move in and we’d figure it out. I wish we’d never moved in,” he said.
Flying Flatbread was cleared out at the Phoodery by Saturday while Folmar and employees finished moving out on Sunday.
Hurdle and Tarraf appeared in a video posted to the Flying Flatbread Facebook page voicing disappointment with the outcome of the trial.
In a message to the Times, Hurdle said they looked forward to reopening elsewhere.
“This isn’t how we hoped — or remotely envisioned — things would turn out, but we’re ready to turn the page. We’re happy to put this chapter behind us, sad that what could have been didn’t happen, but more than anything we’re hopeful,” Hurdle wrote.
“The Flying Flatbread has always been about good food, good people, and community, and that part isn’t changing. We’re looking ahead to new possibilities and can’t wait to welcome everyone back when we fire up the grill again.”
Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.
