Chinese hotel operator wants famed Yamashiro restaurant booted

The Yamashiro restaurant
The Yamashiro restaurant

JE Group, the Chinese hospitality company that nabbed the landmark Yamashiro restaurant building in the Hollywood Hills last month for $40 million, hasn’t wasted any time in its quest to reposition the property.

The company filed suit last month against Yamashiro restaurant in a bid to oust the operator, Thomas Glover, a member of the family that has operated the restaurant since the 1960s, the L.A. Times reported. The company reportedly plans to install a more high-end eatery in place of the longtime restaurant.

The Beijing-based company reportedly wanted Glover to pay about $100,000 in monthly rent to remain in the space, or about four times as much as the current rate.

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Glover told the Times that he plans to keep the restaurant open until forced out by the courts. A hearing on the issue is slated for April 28.

“It’s been a very heartbreaking thing for us,” Glover said. “I have been there 50 years, and the property has been in my family even longer. To see that come to an end is really tragic.” [LAT] — Katherine Clarke