Shari’s Cafe and Pies in Silverdale could be the second of the Oregon-based chain to leave Kitsap County within two months, after its property owners were sued for eviction over months of unpaid rent. Shari’s Management Corporation, which owns the Silverdale location, held a lease with Bremerton-based Jasonn Properties LLC at the restaurant since 1991, but hasn’t paid rent since last December, according to documents filed Wednesday in Kitsap County Superior Court.
From January through July, according to the complaint for unlawful detainer, the Silverdale Shari’s had racked up over $153,000 in unpaid rent. The landlord, Jasonn Properties, added that Shari’s had not paid property taxes for the second half of 2023 or the first half of 2024, either, leaving the company to cover more than $12,800 owed.
Jasonn Properties filed the complaint after it served Shari’s on July 29 with a five-day notice to pay rent or vacate, both of which Shari’s failed to do within the time allotted. The property owners are also suing for payment on the unpaid rent through August, reimbursement for the property taxes and its ensuing legal fees.
Bremerton lost its Shari’s Cafe and Pies location less than two months ago, in wake of a similar set of circumstances. In 2022 the company became the subject of a lawsuit over $35,000 in three months of missed rent and other fees, which its lawyers argued had been paid but to the wrong address, and eventually closed in mid June after two years battling the property owners in court.
Should the Silverdale Shari’s close as a result of its own missed payments and legal battles, the county would be left with only one Shari’s Restaurant, in Port Orchard, in the retail complex at the exit of Highway 16 and Sedgwick Road. Shari’s closed another restaurant in Yakima on July 8, and shut down its last locations in Tacoma and the Tri-Cities in late July and April, 2023, respectively.
Management at Shari’s headquarters could not be reached for comment. The closure of the Silverdale location would mark another loss for the chain in the Pacific Northwest, leaving customers with fewer options for their favorite comfort food and pies. It remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold and what the future holds for Shari’s in Kitsap County.
