Foodie News
Yao Ming locked out by Magic Johnson group for failing to pay rent: Hisrestaurant rep is injured
Another day, another downtown restaurant is locked out for failing to pay rent.
This time the injured party is Yao Restaurant, which was drafted in February 2010 by a group that included former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming. As first reported by Eater, the restaurant has a notice and locked chains on the front door stating that the it is in default of its lease due to delinquent rent.
With a location in the Houston Pavilions, just blocks from the Toyota Center, the restaurant made sense for approximately 16 months before Yao retired from basketball due to injury.
For those who enjoy overpriced Asian dishes, seafood and sushi from extremely tall people, the original Yao Restaurant is still open in West Houston.
The lockout comes just a month after Magic Johnson's Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds announced a joint venture with Midway Management (the real estate firm behind thriving CityCentre) to revitalize the Houston Pavilions, which went into receivership at the end of 2011.
Is Yao's just the first freeloading tenant getting kicked out to make room for CJUF's planned new leases? I guess we'll see.
It's the second high-profile downtown restaurant to get locked out in the past two months. Strip House, located in Houston Center, was locked out with a similar notice in July.
For those who enjoy overpriced Asian dishes, seafood and sushi from extremely tall people, the original Yao Restaurant is still open in West Houston.