Narsi's, Coddingtown reach agreement

<p>After carving each other up in court for more than a year, Narsi's Hof Brau and Coddingtown Mall reached a truce Monday in the shopping center's campaign to oust the eatery from its longtime location.</p><p>Narsi Samii, weary of the long legal battle over his eviction, agreed to move his buffet restaurant to a smaller space on the south side of Coddingtown Mall.</p><p>"It seems like it's a done deal," Samii said after returning from a lengthy day of negotiations in Petaluma. "I'm a businessman, and I want to go forward."</p><p>Samii said he has agreed in principal to the latest offer by mall co-owner Simon Property Group to help move him into the new space, about half the size of his existing restaurant.</p><p>Under the agreement, the mall would grant Samii a 10-year lease and pay about $200,000 for upgrades to the new space, said Todd Eads, vice president of leasing for Simon, the largest mall owner in the nation.</p><p>The deal is far from complete. Both sides have until Jan. 26 to work out details of the lease. If they cannot, they must return to court, Eads said. But both sides expressed optimism that a deal can be completed.</p><p>"I think finally we are on the same page as Narsi," Eads said.</p><p>Mall manager Laura Kozup said evicting Narsi from the mall was never her goal. The mall needs to relocate Narsi to make room for planned upgrades, she said.</p><p>"I'm excited," Kozup said. "I really wanted to work out a deal with him, and it looks like we have."</p><p>The drama began last fall, when the mall informed Samii that it was canceling his lease because the restaurant failed to generate enough revenue.</p><p>But Samii thought he was being treated unfairly by a company that was looking for any excuse to kick him out and make way for a high-end chain restaurant such as Cheesecake Factory.</p><p>He argued the mall should buy out the remaining seven years of his lease or fully pay for his relocation.</p><p>Eads said the latest deal might not cover the entire cost of the move, but it should go a long way.</p><p>"It's a fairly significant amount and should cover a significant portion of his building needs," Eads said.</p><p>Samii said he's not so sure about that, but wants to move forward. He said he's been in the mall so long -- since 1983 -- that he would hate to leave it now and start all over somewhere else.</p><p>"I'm not going to walk away from Coddingtown," he said.</p><p>The breakthrough came after Samii hired a new attorney, Dan Crowley. Samii said Crowley helped him see that the previous stalemate wasn't benefitting anyone.</p><p>"He made me really aware that we were not getting anywhere, so we've got to resolve it," Samii said.</p><p>The 2,900-square-foot location is next to Macy's in a space once occupied by a bridal shop but now used as a security office, Kozup said.</p><p>The space faces the parking lot, which will give Samii the ability to open his restaurant earlier than the rest of the mall, Kozup said. Samii has said the new location might allow him to serve breakfast.</p><p>If all goes according to plan, the new restaurant might be able to open late next year, Samii said.</p><p>Simon Properties is motivated to help Samii make the move because interest is high in his current location, Eads said. Several major restaurant chains want to move to Coddingtown, he said.</p><p>"Even in this economy, there is still a lot of interest," Eads said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.</p>