WATSONVILLE—Ella’s at the Airport will indeed change hands after the City of Watsonville and owner/operator Ella King came to an agreement on a five-year lease that is set to be transferred to new owner/operator Chielo Apac.
The Watsonville City Council approved the lease and transfer as a consent agenda item during its Tuesday night meeting. The elected leaders also approved a settlement with King that protects the City from any legal action on the matter.
The move likely brings an end to a messy back-and-forth between King and Watsonville Municipal Airport management that came to a head at a city council meeting last month. In a 4-3 decision, the city council approved King’s appeal to Airport Director Rayvon Williams’ ruling in October 2021 that Apac, who owns Nancy’s Airport Cafe in Willows, Calif. and plans to buy Ella’s, was not an acceptable lease assignee.
The decision, according to Williams, was made after reviewing the Apac’s qualifications. Williams said that Apac failed to provide several financial documents, submitted an underwhelming business plan and does not have sufficient experience managing a similar restaurant, or adequate “financial strength,” to take over the 100 Aviation Way location that has become a community mainstay over the past six years.
A consultant with the Santa Cruz Small Business Development Center hired by airport management also identified similar “red flags” in the documents submitted to the city, Williams said.
But Ella’s representatives claimed that Williams was abusing his power by denying the assignment and forcing the business owner to hastily sign a new lease agreement.
A denial would have meant the City could have moved forward with a request for proposal for prospective restaurateurs interested in the location. It would have also likely resulted in a lawsuit, Ella’s representatives said during the city council meeting last month.
According to the new lease, rent will start at $4,000 and increase to $5,500 over the course of the half-decade deal. The lessee will also pay a $900 fee for the triple net lease agreement.
If the impending sale between King and Apac falls through, the agreement approved Tuesday states, the lease will revert back to King.
