Another boutique grocery store is in hot water, but rather than shutting down locations, Duckweed Urban Grocery is being sued by a Seminole Heights developer.
Last month Avenue Lofts developer Wesley Burdette filed a lawsuit against Duckweed, "seeking back rent and alleging that the boutique grocer has no rights to terminate its lease," reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Duckweed's website lays out the forthcoming locations for the grocery store including the Seminole Heights shop (scheduled for fall 2019) and a fourth at Westshore Plaza in 2020.
The publication reported that although the grocery store signed a lease for the location in September of 2018, in February 2020, "Duckweed notified the developer that it was terminating the lease on the grounds that it had not been able to obtain the necessary approvals to move forward with its opening, including a liquor license."
In response, the lawsuit was filed by Burgette's alleging that "failing to move forward with its pre-opening buildout and unreasonably delaying its progress toward opening."
In early September of 2018, Pavan Ped posted within Seminole Heights Community Facebook group: "...Wanted to get some feedback from the locals to see if there is a need for our little store in your community. Thanks, - Duckweed"
The comment was flooded with 518 likes and 305 comments. On February 6, Ped returned to the group to break the news that Duckweed would, in fact, not be making a debut in Seminole Heights.
The post was met with 64 comments, one of which reading, "When you can't get a Duckweed because of a Dickweed."
Although we can kiss the Seminole Heights' location goodbye, locals can still slide by the downtown Tampa shop at 803 N. Tampa St. and another at 117 N. 12th. St. in Channelside.
More details to come as the lawsuit continues.
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