A bike shop in the North Tabor neighborhood is on the ropes and its owner is battling for its future in court.
Winona Ruth is the owner and operator of Mount Tabor Cyclery at 5504 E Burnside St. “Our neighborhood bike shop has seen a lot in the last year,” she shared on the shop’s Instagram page on March 17th. “Trade war, supply chain breakdown, pandemic, wildfire smoke and deep freeze.”
Along with those challenges, Ruth revealed the shop owes $16,000 in back rent and her landlord, real estate corporation Phillips Edison, has sued the shop for repayment.
City of Portland and Multnomah County moratoriums ended on February 1st. Ruth feels it’s unfair to collect rent while Covid-19 restrictions are still in place and she has pushed for extensions of commercial tenant eviction moratoriums at both the state and local levels. “Our leadership has failed at every level to meet this pandemic,” she wrote on February 15th. “Let’s shame these leaders and their landlord friends into extending the commercial eviction moratorium and repayment period until it is safe to resume normal activities.”
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Last week Ruth launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to pay her rent and continue her court battle with Phillips Edison. Beyond donations, she wants people to contact state reps to support House Bill 2966 which would extend the eviction moratorium for six more months.
While she waits for her next court hearing on Monday (3/29), Ruth shared news that she’ll receive a small federal Covid relief loan that will help get her closer to her payback goal. “We’re getting closer to our goal of paying these guys off and going back to riding our bikes in peace, thanks to your generosity and a little legal defense,” she wrote on Instagram yesterday.
Follow the fate of this neighborhood bike shop here.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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