Pet store owner at Fresno’s River Park says landlord ‘bullying’ him into pricey AC fix

The owner of a pet store in the River Park shopping center is accusing his landlord, Lance Kashian & Company, of “bullying” tactics after his latest complaints about the long-faulty air conditioning in the building he leases.

Neal Stuckey, owner of the Tails pet boutique, says fixing it would cost upwards of $10,000 — too much for his small business to absorb. Lance Kashian has pointed to language in Tails’ lease agreement that shows the tenant is responsible for the fix, but Stuckey says the landlord has never provided him a properly working AC unit.

Lance Kashian has told Stuckey that, per the lease agreement, it doesn’t have to show him proof the unit was in proper working condition when it was installed. The Tails owner has also noticed signage marketing his business on nearby marquees was recently removed, which he thinks may be retaliation for his complaints.

“They want you to pay for something that has never worked from day one,” Stuckey said. “That, to me, is unethical.”

Lance Kashian did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment about Stuckey’s assertion that his business is being bullied and why it would decline to show him proof the AC unit was installed in proper condition.

The company, one of Fresno’s most prominent in development and real estate management, built the giant River Park shopping center in the 1990s and 2000s. Lance Kashian is also behind Fresno State’s Campus Pointe and east Fresno’s Fancher Creek — both commercial centers — plus several residential and office buildings in town.

Stuckey is a Fresno native but has lived for several years in San Luis Obispo, where he and his wife also operate an axe throwing business and their first Tails store. He said he decided to open Tails’ second location in 2022 at River Park after Fresnans who visited his San Luis Obispo shop during trips to the coast told him Fresno needed a store with specialty products for pets.

The pet shop owner said he always regarded River Park as the city’s “premier shopping area” and that Tails has built a customer base there. But he added that he will leave the shopping center if he has to.

Fresno pet shop owner says he’s spent thousands to keep River Park store cool

Tails opened at River Park on Black Friday 2022, but Stuckey said his staff did not start using the AC unit until the weather began warming the following spring. They quickly noticed the unit was not working properly, so Stuckey installed ceiling fans in the store — a cost of about $500, he said.

Later that spring, Stuckey said the heat worsened and became dangerous for his staff, customers and pets. He said River Park management told him the unit needed to be replaced but didn’t tell him why. Stuckey said he was told the new unit, installed in May 2023, was “brand new.”

Stuckey said the two-motor unit made noises he found irregular from the start and was slow to cool the 1,500-square-foot store. At one point, he tinted the store’s large windows — a cost of about $1,500, he said — to help keep the sun out.

Stuckey said the system began leaking coolant last spring and was serviced in the summer by the company that originally installed it, B&L Mechanical. As Fresno experienced record heat this past March, Stuckey said his staff again noticed the AC unit was not working.

He contacted River Park and B&L Mechanical, who told him one of the unit’s motors and its coils were compromised. A quote he received in March from B&L said it would cost $12,900 to replace the coil, though River Park more recently provided him a $10,775 quote.

Meanwhile, Stuckey added, the unit’s latest malfunction has already cost him about $2,000 in service calls and emergency coolant supplies.

River Park lease says tenant shop is responsible for $10,000+ AC fix

Emails shared with The Bee by Stuckey show a Lance Kashian River Park manager told him “responsibility for this HVAC repair rests with the Tenant.” The email cites a section of Stuckey’s lease agreement, which says the tenant agrees to maintain, repair and replace equipment serving the premises, including the AC system.

Stuckey then requested that Lance Kashian provide him a certificate of operation of the unit, photos and inspections from before and after its installation and other documentation.

“The lease does not require the Landlord to furnish such documentation,” Lance Kashian responded to Stuckey. “Additionally, the Landlord will not be repairing or replacing the HVAC unit serving your premises.”

Stuckey told The Bee he would be OK with abiding by the policy if he had been given a “properly functioning unit from day one.” Even if he did repair it, the unit would not be his asset to take if he ever left River Park, Stuckey added.

“We can’t afford that,” he said. “We’re a small business. I’m not one of these big box stores that they have here.”