This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Landlord Offers Clarification On Planned Falls Tattoo Parlor Move

Crown Property Management partner says there's more to the story on In Your Face Tattooz planned move in July

The owner of the building which houses In Your Face Tattooz at N87 W16458 Appleton Ave. has requested a bit of clarification regarding the circumstances surrounding the tattoo parlor’s planned move. 

In Your Face Tattooz plans to merge with the newly-formed Immortal Tattoo Company a short distance away at N85W15964 Appleton Ave.  If all goes well, the new location will open July 15.

Last week, about the move quoted business operator Cliff May explaining why he was planning to move from his current location.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“We’re moving because our landlord wants me to do some construction in the building and he wants me to do it at my expense,” May said.  ” My landlord re-wrote a lease when my (temporary) lease was up in May. He increased the rent to almost double of what it was and he said he wanted me to fix the furnace in the building, replace some tile that’s out in the foyer, do some drywall work in both the front and rear foyers, and build a wall that would section off a room – all at my expense.”

However, Jay Keinert, a partner at Crown Property Management, says May’s description of the circumstances is not completely accurate.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“He (May) wanted to rent the upper suite which is smaller and we had another party interested in that suite,” Keinert said. “(May) actually liked the lower suite which was much bigger and more conducive to what he was going to do. He took the lower space and we gave it to him at the same price. He only wanted to do a six-month lease because he wanted to see how things would develop.”

Keinert said the lower suite also had two separate side offices that were not included in the rental agreement but said that May took those over while he was setting up his business.

“He had taken over the whole main floor but he wasn’t paying rent for it,” Keinert said. “He was subleasing it to other tattoo and piercing people. So we said, ‘If you’re going to use these suites for your business, you’re going to have to pay something extra.’”

The extra suites rented out for $195 per month each. Paying for them would have nearly doubled the tattoo operation’s rent. Since May didn’t want to pay the difference, Keinert says he offered an alternative.

“I asked him to finish putting in 18 floor tiles in the entry foyer and put up a three-foot divider wall to separate one suite which we would rent as a private office. He agreed to do that but then said he wouldn’t do it until he got a year or two extension on his lease. He was also not able to provide us with a certificate of liability insurance.”

May said he made numerous attempts but could not get liability insurance for a tattoo shop.  Keinert countered that “You can get any kind of insurance you want. You just have to be willing to pay for it. We’re not trying to insure his clients. We’re trying to insure that if someone walks into the place, falls and gets hurt when coming to his suite, they can’t sue us for that.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?