The Record Lounge owner Heather Frarey stood behind the counter of her shop and watched longtime customers browse through her stock around 6 p.m. Tuesday, for the last time in East Lansing.
The Record Lounge’s eviction stems from unpaid rent, said Julie Barrett-Horan, a manager with Cron Management.
Cron Management has taken over management of the property for The State News.
“The reason for removal has nothing to do with, ‘We just wanted the space back,’ as I feel like maybe has been implied on social media yesterday and today, but it’s because of rent issues,” Barrett-Horan said. "We’ve been working with her for several months … she agreed that she hasn’t been an ideal tenant. … There were a lot of in between communications and emails that she also ignored. It’s just a matter of business.”
In a Facebook status posted at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Frarey wrote she was informed the owners of the space needed it and the store had two days to move out of the location. Frarey said she found the news around 2:30 p.m. the same day she posted her status.
Frarey said although The State News owns the building, everything has gone through Cron Management. The State News General Manager Marty Sturgeon said she was just hearing about the situation as of Wednesday morning.
“These things rarely happen in just a couple of days,” Sturgeon said. “There has been a long history with rent payments, which is obviously what this is all about, and so it’s not a surprise, and it may feel like it's happening quickly but it’s not a quick thing.”
Court Case
Cron Management, as an agent of The State News, filed a complaint against Frarey and The Record Lounge that alleged The State News was owed $3,340 in unpaid rent from Oct. 1, 2016 to February 2017, as well as $100 in filing and service costs, according to documents obtained from 54B District Court. Barrett-Horan said The Record Lounge had not made a full payment of their $800 a month rental rate during that period.
The plaintiff, Cron Management, was awarded the $3,440 in a small claims judgement on Feb. 6, through nonappearance default.
“Initially we just filed in small claims just trying to get her to pay because we were not being successful in communicating with her directly, and a lot of times being served up court papers prompts people to figure it out and handle their biz,” Barrett-Horan said. “That didn’t turn out to work, she didn’t show up for court, we got a default judgement, but small claims is not an eviction process, that’s just a money judgement.”
The judgement states if it is not paid within 30 days, the defendant must pay the judgement in full or disclose to the court and plaintiff in writing the location of all of their assets, according to the documents. Cron bypassed that step and went forward with eviction, Barrett-Horan said.
“In trying to collect the small claims judgement, we could’ve gone that route,” Barrett-Horan said. “In this case, The State News Board decided to go forward with eviction rather than having the debt just continue to add up while we were being ignored and not paid.”
Frarey was served a notice on Feb. 7 through the court stating she had seven days to pay the rent or vacate the space, or the landlord may take her to court to evict her.
The Record Lounge certificate of service - 2/7/2017 by The State News on Scribd
On Feb. 16, a summons was issued for Frarey for a court date on March 6. The summons notified Frarey that the plaintiff had filed a complaint seeking to recover possession of the property and receive a money judgement.
The Record Lounge summons - 2/16/17 by The State News on Scribd
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Barrett-Horan said Frarey paid the previous judgement almost in full in court on March 6, but a new judgement was issued against her. The March 6 judgement states that the plaintiff has a right to recover possession of the property, and The Record Lounge owes the plaintiff a $1,016.80 Possession Judgement and a $371.80 money judgement for damages and costs. The possession judgement included a rent payment of $840 to retain possession.
The Record Lounge judgement - 3/16/17 by The State News on Scribd
Frarey signed and agreed to the judgement on March 6, according to the documents.
The judgement also ordered the plaintiff could apply for an order evicting the defendant if the possession judgement was not paid in full by March 16.
“If they had done that, that would have satisfied that, we would’ve had to start over with eviction proceedings if she fell behind again,” Barrett-Horan said. “Our position after this many months was that she needed to be ... paid up completely, and that’s what that payment would have done at that time.”
The plaintiff filed an application to evict the defendant on March 22, claiming no payment had been made on the March 6 judgement. The court ordered the eviction the next day.
The Record Lounge application and order of eviction - 3/22/17 by The State News on Scribd
The documents do not make it clear when Frarey was notified of the eviction order, but William Tomblin, attorney for Cron Management, said Frarey was served a writ of restitution on Friday and was notified of the Thursday at noon deadline Monday or Tuesday.
"Upon the service of the writ of restitution, the court officer is empowered to evict her at that time,” Tomblin said. “My client’s not required to give any extension of time, but as a courtesy to Ms. Frarey, they were willing to allow her till Thursday at noon to move her stuff out before any actual eviction occurred.”
Reaction
Though the store was on a month-to-month lease, Frarey said she was not told anything about why the space was needed or why the store is being forced out.
“At first he said tomorrow by noon, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how I’m ever going to do that, I mean, there is a lot of stuff here and it’s heavy,’” Frarey said. “He came back, and he says, ‘Well, they said until Thursday at noon, I guess.’”
Frarey said she’s already ordered about $5,000 worth of stock for Record Store Day, which takes place on April 22.
Frarey posted a Facebook status at 10:44 a.m. Wednesday that said The Record Lounge has found a tentative space in REO Town. A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover the cost of the move.
“I feel like shit right now," Frarey said. "I mean, this is my whole life. This is my business. I’ve grown this for nine years, there’s been some rough times and I’m sure there’s been late rent here two or three or four times, but never to warrant this, I believe ... I’m just trying to comprehend the whole thing right now.”
Lansing residents Mariette Heubel and Nicole Geller were browsing for last-minute purchases Tuesday night. Heubel said they have been customers at the Lounge for several years and have even played shows there before with their band, Tidal, whose first full-length album was sold at the store.
“(We were) heartbroken, (I) instantly called Heather, and I was like, ‘Do you need help?’” Geller said. “I was literally just in here like a couple hours before she posted the status."
Browsing the records one last time, Geller said she picked up a shirt at the request of a friend from Chicago who is also a fan of the store.
“My head is still spinning, this is the only record shop that I really like in the area,” Heubel said. “It’s a really good spot, I’m really bummed about this."
Editor's note: Frarey could not be reached for follow-up questions on March 29. She was interviewed by The State News on March 28.
