Property owner says Petaluma Cattlemens ‘started shorting us’ on rent, but restaurant disputes claims

An application to redevelop a parcel in northern Petaluma has cast doubt on the future of the beloved Cattlemens steakhouse that’s been a community institution for more than 50 years, but could be replaced by a Chick-fil-A.

The property’s owner says the restaurant chain is behind in its rent payments, has let its lease expire and has no interest in staying in Petaluma.

Speaking with the Petaluma Argus-Courier Tuesday, Anthony Ferolito said relations between the Cattlemens chain and his family – which has owned the 3-acre parcel on the 5000 block of Petaluma Boulevard North for generations – became strained during the pandemic shutdown, when restaurants everywhere had to close their doors.

That’s when Cattlemens, he said, began failing to pay their full rental payment.

“Cattlemens started shorting us,” he said, claiming the company still owes his family tens of thousands in back payments.

Ferolito also said the restaurant chain allowed its lease to expire in December 2021 and has been on a month-to-month lease ever since.

He said he suspects it was “their plan from the beginning” to let go of the site as the restaurateur consolidates its Santa Rosa and Petaluma outlets into a single location in Rohnert Park.

Cattlemens representative Miranda Smith refuted Ferolito’s claims, telling the Argus-Courier, “As hard as it was during the pandemic, we made all payments per our lease agreements. The pandemic has not impacted our ability to pay any of our partners at any of our locations. If there is a dispute on the rent calculations, we are eager to work to resolve it.”

Smith added that, regarding the restaurant’s future plans, “Cattlemens did put in an offer to purchase the property, as our desire has always been to stay and operate in Petaluma and still is.”

That statement echoed one given previously by Smith: “We don't have any plans to close and look forward to continuing to serve the Petaluma community as we have for the last 52 years.”

The claims came to light following the filing of a project proposal for the parcel at 5002 North Petaluma Blvd. by Dynamic Real Estate Partners, a Los Angeles-based developer.

As a potential purchaser of the property, Dynamic Real Estate Partners submitted plans to the city of Petaluma on Oct. 10 that would tear down the Cattlemens building and replace it with a Chick-fil-A restaurant, among other changes.

According to the developer’s proposal submitted last month, “The existing 9,040-square-foot restaurant building is being removed and replaced with a new 5,000-square-foot restaurant building with exterior patios located at the northwest and southeast corners of the building.”

Other proposed changes include a new 4,500-square-foot retail space alongside the two existing western-style retail buildings on the site, which house Jay Palm’s Saddle Shop, North Bay Grain and Pleasures Unlimited Too. The two existing retail structures would be left in place but with exterior improvements made.

City planning manager Andrew Trippel said the project proposal will require review by the city’s Planning Commission, which could take up to six months after city planners deem the project application complete. They now have 30 days from the Oct. 10 submittal to make that determination, after which the project review process can begin, Trippel said.

“Currently, no city regulations or policies would prohibit the property owner or its agent from proposing development on this property,” Trippel said.

First, however, a sale would need to go through. Ferolito said he and his family decided to put the property up for sale “a couple years ago,” listing it for $7 million.

Ferolito – who was born and raised in Petaluma but now lives in Florida – said he is 50% owner of the parcel, and that several family members collectively own the other 50%.

He said both Cattlemens and Dynamic Real Estate Partners put in offers on the property. The family eventually entered into a $6.3 million negotiation with the developer, but that deal has not yet been completed.

Ferolito said he was very young when his grandparents built the building that in 1969 would become a Cattlemens – one of the first to open.

“My grandfather is the one who went out and purchased all those wagon wheels that they turned into chandeliers,” he said, recalling boyhood memories.

“Our family has owned that property since before the Highway 101 went in,” he added.

Ferolito said Dynamic Real Estate Partners has already invested “quite a bit of money” in the purchase, but that it could take a few more months to determine whether the purchase will go through.

For now, Cattlemens in Petaluma remains open daily from 4 to 10 p.m.

Petaluma Argus-Courier reporter Amelia Parreira contributed to this report.