Last August Corcoran was in talks with restaurateur Rocky Boustani of Greek Isle and Gourmet Market restaurants in Mesquite. He planned to transform the Sipango husk into an upscale Moroccan restaurant/lounge called Tangerine. In September the Dallas Observer reported the pair inked a deal for the space, eyeing a November opening. It was apparently a spurt of vapor.
"There's nothing signed," insists Corcoran. "That guy has never seen my signature. To sign a deal you gotta...have one. The guy never had one." Boustani begs to differ. He insists he reached a verbal agreement with Corcoran backed by preliminary proposals with Corcoran's initials and signature. So he slapped Corcoran with a $1 million breach-of-contract suit. "He's too slick," Boustani says. "He was trying to run Tangerine out of money."
The tale plays out like so many in the restaurant biz, with both sides slinging "liar" and "fraud" about as gobs of money are devoured. Corcoran, who has roughly nine years left on a long-term lease on the Travis Street property, has been trying to get a new restaurant into the space since Sipango went bankrupt in early 2004.
Boustani says he began reworking the space last September with Corcoran's blessing, transforming it into Tangerine after the pair reached a preliminary nine-year sublease agreement for $7,000 per month, gradually increasing to $12,000 per month. The deal also gave Corcoran a $60,000 consulting fee dispensed over 12 months. Boustani says he installed antique entrance doors, mosaics, custom fountains and other furnishings, many of them imported from Morocco. He also claims he racked up bills of $80,000 for consultants and salaried employees, including having a chef flown in from Morocco, and more than $130,000 on licenses and renovations. Then, on November 1, Corcoran sent Boustani a letter informing him that he was changing the locks, citing Boustani's failure to file a credit application and provide proof of necessary financial resources, plus the lack of a signed sublease agreement. Boustani disputes this. "He got all of the information he needed," he says. And while Boustani agrees there is no lease agreement or even a signed letter of intent, he says Corcoran initialed the terms of the lease in a memorandum to Boustani and urged him to acquire construction permits to begin renovations. He believes the real reason he was locked out is Corcoran wanted to assume a greater role in the Tangerine project and was incensed when Boustani rebuffed him. "He has an emotional attachment to the building," Boustani says.
Now the dispute rests with a judge. Boustani, who says he still hasn't been able to get all of his furnishings out of the space, is looking for another location. Corcoran is still looking for a concept to slip into the Sipango space (the rear of the building will soon open as a private nightclub operated by ecarlink.com co-founder Brett Stacey). Corcoran also accuses Boustani of violating a confidentiality agreement by talking to the Observer about the project last September. "Fresh fruit, rotten tangerine," Corcoran says.
Boustani says the agreement simply barred him from disclosing financial details. "He did us wrong, and we don't deserve it," says Boustani. "I guess we're just another victim of his games...I would rather just cut my losses." --
