Grimaldi moving out of Brooklyn?

If you live in NYC (or even in the Southwest) chances are you have been to one of Grimaldi's pizzerias throughout the city. But the famous Grimaldi's near the Brooklyn Bridge, were even first lady Michelle Obama has been seen eating with her daughters is now in jeopardy of being evicted by their landlord for $60,000 in back rent plus reimbursements to their landlord for having to dip into her escrow account to pay of delinquent property tax. The landlord Dorthy Waxman, said through her lawyer she's had enough with the late payments and wants the Frank Ciolli's, "The Pizza Man" out. Both sides say a settlement on the late payments was made in June with Ciolli set to pay $38,000 as a security deposit and $7,000 in legal fees. Ciolli said he paid the deposit but through "a misunderstanding" missed the deadline on the $7,000 in legal fees, and now his landlord is using the loophole to evict him.

You would think that since Grimaldi's is so famous and because it makes so much in sales that the landlord would be happy to allow them to continue doing business but according to the landlords son, "This is not a case of some wealthy landlord kicking out a small business. My mother lives in assisted living, has owned the building 50 years, and this is her sole source of income. But, Ciolli's bounced numerous checks, has repeatedly fallen months behind in rent and has failed to take care of his financial obligations over many years." Even the state has had problems with Ciolli's. In 2008, the state briefly shuttered Grimaldi's for owing $165,000 in back taxes. That bill settled, but as of yesterday Grimaldi's was facing $22,674 in liens from the state for delinquent sales and withholding taxes. So perhaps, Ciolli is not taking rent as seriously as he should because he can hide behind the fame of his restaurant (and the sales). On a daily basis lines build up to a block just for a slice of pizza! A judge will decide if Grimaldi's can stay in the building or not. As always we will keep you posted as soon as we hear more.

SOUNDOFF DO YOU THINK GRIMALDI'S SHOULD STAY?