LA Landlords Want Their Money

Presenting another edition of “landlords want their money and they’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

Cue WeHo drama.

The suit concerns rent at Roosterfish, a well-known gay bar in West Hollywood. The landlord entity is connected to Caroline Braidi and Matthew Portnoff — and the tenant entity is connected to Mario Vollera, Patrick Brunet, Alex and Vincent Tapia. 

Some background for you … the spot used to be home to Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant Pump. The reality star’s restaurant closed in 2023 —  allegedly unable to make the rent. That’s when Roosterfish, an iconic Venice bar, expanded into West Hollywood.

Now, Roosterfish is having its own rent problems. 

In July, the landlord gave notice to pay up, but the tenant didn’t. A month later, the landlord sued, seeking its restaurant and bar back, $111,000 in rent it claims it is owed, and almost $2,000 a day until Roosterfish is out.

Per a copy of the 10-year lease, the rent was about $8 per square foot — or $52,500 per month. Risers in the deal mean that by the end, Roosterfish would have been paying $11 per square foot per month — $72,000 a month, and $860,000 a year.

That’s a lot of Red Roosters and Rooster Negronis.

Portnoff declined to comment. Vollera said he and Brunet are no longer part of Roosterfish WeHo (still, the two signed the lease and are guarantors, per copies in the complaint). 

Roosterfish did not immediately respond. 

Next up: intra-industry suit in Century City.

In case you missed it, Held Properties, a family-owned company, sued its tenant WealthStone, a real estate company. The landlord accused its tenant of failing and refusing to pay rent at its 1880 Century Park East office tower. Held Properties went after the real estate entity’s head, Andres Szita, naming him personally in the August complaint.

Basically, the landlord wants a million dollars in damages, whether that comes from WealthStone or Szita, or both — and that comes after Held Properties said it won an earlier case against the tenant. 

The five-year deal inked in 2019 was for a small space, less than 5,000 square feet. The price began at $3.75 per square foot per month and ended at more than $4 per square foot per month. So, the rent was in the $200,000s each year. 

Neither party responded to The Real Deal’s request for comment. 

Last but not least: Simon Property Group versus Popdrop

Simon and Popdrop, a toy company, signed a lease in late 2024. The tenant moved into Simon’s Del Amo Fashion Center, a mall in the South Bay, the summer after, per the August complaint — and it didn’t take long for conflict to ensue in Torrance.

That same summer, in Aug. 2025. Simon claims the “defendants breached the lease,” and since then, “failed and refused” to pay rent. 

The tenant was served multiple notices before Simon took it to court, the complaint reads. Now the landlord wants the alleged $78,000 it is owed, and another $250 each day that passes with Popdrop still in the space.

Neither Simon Property Group nor Popdrop, which appears to also lease space at Simon’s Brea mall, immediately responded to a request for comment.

Per the Del Amo Fashion Center lease agreement signed by a Simon exec and included in the complaint, Popdrop was on the hook for around $40,000 each year for three years (around $40 per square foot per year). Plus, a percentage of its sales if it does well enough to exceed a set threshold. For the first year, that meant if Popdrop made more than $485,000 in sales, whatever that excess was, Simon would get eight percent of it — on top of rent.

Read more