How to extend your retail store lease in Seattle
Pretend that all of a sudden you cannot understand English.
Market store fights to stay open, 2006-09-07:
Unless there is a last-minute reprieve, Rainier Hardware in Pike Place Market will close for good at the end of the month when the lease runs out.
But owners Tay and Kien Ha said Wednesday that they don't want to leave, that they were forced to sign a contract they didn't understand in January 2005, and that now they are being pushed out by the Market management.
"They told me, if you don't sign, we will kick you out right now," Kien Ha said Wednesday.
The couple filed a complaint this summer with the Washington State Human Rights Commission, claiming they were taken advantage of because of their limited English.
And just a little later in the article:
But Pike Place Market managers say when they took the new contract to Tay Ha, he told them he was planning to retire. A spokesman said they have since offered other spaces and incentives.
"The Has have negotiated their leases at the Market for 19 years, and there was never any question of a language barrier before," said James Haydu, communications director for the Market.
But don't worry - there is at least one person who believes in the free market, and in not playing the race card:
Gary Goedeke, president of the Market's merchants association, said he was ready to fight for the Has until he did some research.
"I think people are making too much of this. There is no racism. The hardware store is a bona-fide service, but it didn't earn enough money for the space they are in at the Market."
There you have it. If you live in Seattle, and are not white, and your lease is up and you do not like the terms for a new lease, then just claim you suddenly cannot speak English.
Update 2006-10-03
Robert Jamieson weighs in his with usual claptrap in Rainier Hardware gets nailed by greed, including this choice quote from former Seattle City Council member Charlie Chong:
"One of the dirty little secrets of the city is the Market is run by people who are evil."
The Has, Chong, and Jamieson are all disgusting. I am sick of hearing "people of color" speak clearly racist opinions and get praised for it.