Lefty O’Doul’s owner sued over restaurant rent
San Francisco restaurateur Nick Bovis, who pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud charges in a City Hall corruption investigation, has been sued over alleged unpaid rent at his closed restaurant Lefty’s Ballpark Buffet.
Bovis and his wife, Connie Morris, allegedly failed to pay more than $221,000 in rent for the Lefty’s location at 145 Jefferson St. in Fisherman’s Wharf, landlord Fong Real Estate Company said in a lawsuit filed July 9. Bovis and Morris allegedly failed to pay rent owed in November 2019 and didn’t resolve a notice of default in December, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.
The suit, a civil claim, is unrelated to the federal criminal charges from a corruption investigation centered on former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. Bovis was originally
arrested by the FBI in January for attempting to bribe a San Francisco airport commissioner alongside Nuru.
Attorneys representing Fong and Bovis didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lefty’s Ballpark Buffet opened in 2018, two years after the closure of the original Lefty O’Doul’s bar and restaurant near Union Square. The Ballpark Buffet closed in December 2019 because of water damage from a burst pipe and has yet to reopen. Bovis and his wife’s 10year lease agreement for the location does not expire until 2027, and Fong is seeking damages for unpaid rent through the end of the lease if the court grants the landlord possession of the property.
Along with the unpaid rent allegations, Fong said Bovis breached his lease agreement by failing to include the landlord on a list of payees from an insurance claim for the water damage in December 2019, and failed to promptly repair the damage. The cost of the property damage exceeds $600,000, Fong alleges.
Fong also alleges that building insurer Hartford Insurance Company intends to pay the damages to Bovis and Morris and not the landlord. In addition to a request for financial damages, the company has asked for a restraining order to prevent the insurance company from paying the claim’s value to Bovis and his wife without designating the landlord as a payee.
Bovis has been grappling with financial setbacks, friends told The Chronicle in January. Both the original Lefty O’Doul’s and Bovis’ nearby piano bar Gold Dust Lounge closed after a dispute with another landlord. The Gold Dust Lounge closed a second time last year at its 165 Jefferson St. location, not far from Lefty’s Ballpark Buffet. Bovis also failed to secure a lease for a Lefty’s expansion at SFO.
As part of the city’s investigation into corruption, City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued subpoenas in February to Lefty O’Doul’s Foundation for Kids, in addition to nine other corporate entities. The city believes that Bovis’ Lefty’s foundation may have been involved in funneling donations to fund Public Works Department holiday parties.