Talk about a food fight.
A B.C. caterer claims the Coquitlam property it subleased from another company was never a legitimate sublessor. Instead, Fresh To You Catering Inc. contends in fresh legal filings that the subletter eventually locked it out and sold its equipment.
Fresh To You claimed in a recent lawsuit that it entered into a commercial sublease agreement in October 2020 with Morningstar Mechanicalthrough its principal, Davor Gavric, for half of a space at 91 Golden Dr. in Coquitlam. Fresh To You entered into a sublease agreement a year later with numbered company 1300136 B.C. Ltd., which expanded the lease to cover the other half of the space. The caterer said it later entered into a third sublease agreement in 2022 with Morningstar.
The monthly rent increased from $5,168 a month in 2020 to $11,288 a month in 2021, and then to $12,880 a month in 2022, according to Fresh To You’s lawsuit. Fresh To You claimed it was paying Gavric for utilities on the unit, sometimes for over $2,000 a month, without seeing the utility bills.
After entering into the 2020 lease, Gavric allegedly told Fresh To You that a city inspection of the unit would take up to two months. In the meantime, the caterer said it installed equipment in the Coquitlam unit.
The lawsuit claimed Gavric insisted on arranging the city inspection and obtaining the business licence, but that the processes were delayed by the city. Gavric allegedly told Fresh To You a health inspection was required in both halves of the property.
Gavric allegedly told the tenant in September 2022 the inspections had been completed and the business licences had been approved – but that they were mistakenly approved for the previous tenant.
The caterer claimed that at that point it asked Gavric to sublease the second half of the property to another tenant, as it had been losing money on the property for two years. Gavric allegedly agreed – on the condition that he approve the tenant. But when Fresh To You found three candidates, Gavir reportedly failed to meet with them.
Fresh To You allegedly refused to pay rent in October 2022, demanding an explanation for the delays.
When Fresh To You again refused to pay rent in December 2022, the company alleged Gavric responded by threatening to change the locks on the unit unless all bills were paid. Fresh To You claimed it began moving its equipment into a new space that month, but Gavric reportedly changed the locks in January 2023.
Fresh To You CEO Benny Doro reportedly found out the owner of the property was Onni Group. When he visited the company’s offices, he was allegedly told the property was leased to yet another company, Urban Deli Inc., and that the Urban Deli lease didn’t allow for subleases.
When Doro confronted Gavric about this, the Fresh To You lawsuit claimed Gavric sold the remaining equipment Dorowas unable to move out before the locks were changed.
Fresh To You is seeking an order for Gavric and the other companies to return the lease, and for breach of contract and damages against the defendants for fraud.
The allegations have not been proven in court and the no response has been filed as of press time.
