The Qui Korean BBQ & Bar opened in the Gum Spring Village Center near South Riding last September. Suddenly, this March, there were chains on the door and the restaurant was closed.
The restaurant said on social media that the closure was only temporary, but a representative for the landlord — Kim & MacPherson LLC — told The Burn in a phone call that there was an issue with rent not being paid and that The Qui was likely out for good.
It was a shocking end for the South Riding store, especially for a brand that has several other area locations, in Chantilly, Fairfax, and Gainesville.
Now, The Qui has responded to what happened in a letter provided to The Burn by their lawyer. For transparency, we are sharing the main portion of the letter below:
“The Qui wanted to clarify a couple of facts contained in the article regarding the closing of the locale:
1) There is an ongoing litigation between Kim and MacPherson LLC in the Fairfax County Circuit Court that results from issues regarding the construction of the premises, that involve Kim and MacPherson LLC acting as an unlicensed contractor while building out the premises and several others. The work performed by the unlicensed contractor resulted in extensive fire damage to the premises. Kim and MacPherson LLC have refused to fix the damage.
2) The locking out of the premises by the Landlord is a retaliation after Qui filed a lawsuit against Kim and MacPherson LLC, the landlord. After the lawsuit was filed the landlord, chose without notice to lock the Qui out of the locale and relist the premises over a minor rent dispute.
The relationship between the Qui and Kim and MacPherson LLC is strained due to Kim and MacPherson LLC’s refusal to satisfy basic conditions of the contractual relationship between the parties that lead to pending litigation. There were no financial difficulties that led to the closing of the space. The Qui’s business is thriving in the other locales and was thriving in the South Riding locale before they were unceremoniously ejected from the space.
The Qui’s reputation has been greatly hurt by the unceremonious re-leasing of the space and we hope this letter helps clarify the facts.”
As of this afternoon, the doors are still chained at the former Qui location and a “For Lease” sign remains on the door. No word if a new tenant has been found for that spot.
Meanwhile, the South Riding location has been removed from the The Qui’s official website.