Sinbad's Employs Trickery (AKA Bankruptcy Protection) to Stay Open Despite City Eviction

Say what you want about 40-year-old Sinbad’s mediocre food or iffy Health Department grades, this restaurant knows how to put up a fight. Following months of legal battles with the Port of San Francisco, the restaurant was ordered to evacuate by 11:30 a.m. yesterday morning. Ever the wily ones, the Stinson family (the owners) managed to worm their way through a loophole in the form of bankruptcy protection, Hoodline reported. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Sinbad’s is able to remain open for business. Port spokesperson Renee Dunn Martin said in a statement that, “This bankruptcy filing is yet another legal maneuver by the owners of Sinbad’s to delay the return of the property to the Port.” Slow clap for Sinbad’s, which set its assets between $0 and $50,000 and its liabilities between $1,000,001 and $10,000,000 in the bankruptcy filing.

The whole saga started back when the Port evicted Sinbad’s to construct a bigger ferry terminal as part of the $65 million Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal Expansion Project. Sinbad’s has also reportedly had sewage leaks into the San Francisco Bay, some late rent payments, bounced checks and even a few vermin-related health violations over the years, making it not the most attractive tenant. Since then, there has been a lot of he-said, she-said in this case, with the Stinsons insisting they didn’t agree to dates that the Port said they signed off on with lawyer review. Now the Stinsons are arguing they shouldn’t have to leave immediately since the ferry terminal project build isn’t slated to begin until late 2016. No matter what, though, it seems like Sinbad’s will inevitably eventually have to vacate. “We realize that at some point this area is going to be redeveloped. It’s not like Sinbad's can stay here indefinitely. We also don’t like the idea of getting out today or in the immediate future while we have all of these other legal issues laying around,” a lawyer for the restaurant said. Guess they’re just trying to make it as hard as possible.