Burger Bob’s owner agrees to stay open through March, but his lease is month to month
About one week before his lease was set to expire, the owner of Coral Gables’ beloved Burger Bob’s diner has signed a lease extension with the city, giving him until the end of March to continue operating.
This time, however, the lease will be on a month-to-month basis, giving Maguire or the city the opportunity to end the lease at any time.
Robert “Bob” Maguire’s lease was set to expire at the end of the month, and the city is asking would-be operators to renovate the city-owned restaurant on the Granada Golf Course, which shows signs of aging and needs updates for accessibility purposes.
The pandemic hurt Maguire, 85, and he fell behind on his rent to the city.
In January, after already reducing the base monthly rent from $3,000 to $1,000, the Coral Gables City Commission agreed to defer $20,280.26 for rent that was due in 2020, about six months’ worth, through August to help keep the business running.
Now, under the lease extension, Maguire will pay $1,000 a month plus maintenance, insurance and sales tax, plus about $7,000 in back rent owed to the city, according to a copy of the agreement.
Burger Bob’s manager Rita Tennyson said since the restaurant will operate on a month-to-month basis, she can’t hire employees to replace those who made plans to leave when the lease was set to expire this month.
Despite the complications that come with a month-to-month lease, the decision was ultimately made for the community members who have rallied behind the greasy spoon restaurant, she said.
“It’s something we talked about,” Tennyson said. “The love for the community and the love the community has shown us ... it’s more than a restaurant. It’s like a family.”
Customers have raised about $46,000 to help finance a plan by Tennyson to assume control of the restaurant, which has been operating for nearly three decades.
Meanwhile, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto is also offering to renovate the place under the terms of a new, higher-grossing lease after Maguire rejected an earlier offer to buy him out.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 3:37 PM.