Judge Orders China Live to Pay Back $7M in Rent

A high-profile legal battle involving a Chinese food hall in San Francisco is heating up.

Last week, a judge ruled that the China Live restaurant complex at 644 Broadway must pay $6.7 million in disputed rent dating back to 2018, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The ruling has left owner and chef George Chen with few options; Chen told the Business Times he plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. China Live will continue operations unchanged for the foreseeable future as the business “simply needs time to work out a mutually acceptable deal with the bank lender,” Chen said.

The China Live complex opened in 2017 and spans 30,000 square feet across four stories.

Former landlord Chris Wight of Cypress Properties alleged that between January 2018 and February 2025, China Live withheld rent and other lease obligations.

Wight lost control of the building last year after defaulting on the building’s mortgage, which he claims is a result of Chen withholding rent. Gregg Williams of Trident Pacific was appointed as receiver of the building after the default.

“After five and a half years, we finally achieved justice in court,” Wight told the Business Times of the judge’s ruling. “China Live owes all back rent totaling $6.7 million and had the financial means to pay rent but chose not to, which ultimately forced me into default.”

Last year, after several eviction attempts, China Live reached a settlement with Cypress Properties that would allow the food hall to remain a tenant on the property as long as it keeps up with its rent payments. The status of that arrangement remains unclear under the new receivership.

The receiver asked the court to rule China Live’s lease “terminated and forfeited,” according to the Business Times. That would allow Williams — also the receiver of the beleaguered San Francisco Centre mall — to negotiate new terms with China Live.

Loan beneficiary Wells Fargo is hoping to resolve any outstanding loan deficiency with Wight after disposition of the property, a legal filing last month cited by the Business Times said. The financial institution is looking to either proceed with a nonjudicial foreclosure or the receiver will sell the property.

“I am now working closely with the receiver and lender in an effort to maintain ownership of the property with my partners going forward,” Wight told the Business Times, calling the China Live building “a remarkable project…developed with great care” and noting he “remain[s] committed to its future.”

The property was assessed at $13.1 million in March, marking a 61 percent decline from the underwriting assessment of $33.8 million and its lowest mark to date, per the Business Times.

— Chris Malone Méndez