North Fresno bar and restaurant faces eviction for unpaid rent. Owner says it’s discrimination

There may soon be one less place to enjoy a night out in northeast Fresno.

LUXS, the restaurant bar and lounge space at Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue, was recently given an eviction notice.

“We’ve been served with a meritless three-day notice to pay or quit,” said Josh Escovedo, an attorney representing the restaurant. “We will be opposing any attempt to evict LUXS through judicial proceedings,” he said.

The restaurant remains open.

In the notice, landlord Granum Partners claims the restaurant owes $128,325.60 in rent dating to 2018.

The restaurant’s owner, Lewis Everk, does not dispute that he did owe back rent, but says he has been making monthly payments to the landlord in addition to his monthly rent. In a post on Facebook, Everk showed check receipts for what he says is more than $200,000 he has paid over the last year.

The eviction notice follows an ongoing dispute between the tenant and landlord.

In October, Everk filed a lawsuit against Granum Partners claiming, among other things, that the company is discriminating against LUXS because of its diverse clientele, the majority of whom are people of color. Sequoia Brewing Company, which is also in the center and runs under similar conditions and hours, has been allowed to operate without issue, the suit says, because its “patrons are mostly white.”

LUXS operates as a restaurant and bar in accordance with its conditional use permit, Escovedo said. But it has been known to host events and live music. Rapper G-Eazy did a guest spot in May.

And the restaurant has not been without issues.

According to the suit, the landlord claimed used condoms were found in the parking lot and attributed them to LUXS’ customers, though the lot is shared with several other businesses.

In October, a shooting in the parking lot sent one man to the hospital.

So far, Granum Partners has not replied to the suit, Escovedo said. A call to the property management company by The Bee was not returned.

LUXS is actually the third iteration of a restaurant for Everk in this location. In 2013, he was a partner in the opening of Hermosa California Kitchen, or HCK, a Las Vegas-style bar that attracted a young crowd. In 2016, he bought out his partner and rebranded the restaurant with a small-plates and old-Hollywood concept called Hyde & Vyne.

LUXS opened in the location in 2017.

Nor is this Evek’s only restaurant venture. He owns Jugo Salad and Juice Bar, which has several locations in Fresno, and is working to open a new restaurant VXYN at RiverView Shopping Center with help from chef Adam Meier from the Copper River Country Club.