City of Bryan and Downtown business owners at odds in a Brazos County Courtroom this week

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The City of Bryan and a local business owner are at odds about an agreement from 2014 that has landed them in a Brazos County courtroom this week.

Bryan Commerce and Development Inc. is suing AdventGX, a company owned by Jose and Joan Quintana. They own and run both the Grand Stafford Theater and Ice House on Main.

According to court documents, the city is seeking $300,000 in damages after the company failed to fulfill its side of a contract. In 2014, the city entered an agreement with AdventGX to sell them the Ice House at no cost, with the expectation that $2.5 million in improvements would be made and 25% of the space would be used for retail.

Documents filed with the court system show the city says the only tenant at the Ice House, Ronin, only occupies 14% of the space meaning they are in violation of conditions for the agreement.

In a statement from the city, spokesperson Lacey Lively said, “We’re confident in a fair jury reaching a just decision.”

Business owners Jose and Joan released a statement refuting complaints, saying they have fulfilled contractual agreements and that the entire space is retail.

They also cited a conflict with the tenant of the Ice House, calling the lawsuit “unjustified” and claiming this was the result of a threat.

“Sadly, Jose and I have good reason to suspect that something other than virtue lurks behind what is clearly an unjustified cause against our company. Just before COVID emerged, one of our tenants’ team members informed Jose that if we did not forgive their past due rent (which was more than 7 months overdue at the time; meaning they were in arrears before COVID started), they would approach their “friend” at the city council to make our lives miserable,” the statement from the Quintanas said.

A jury selection for the case happened Monday, the trial is expected to last a number of days. A full statement from the owners of AdventGX can be found below.

“Dear Friend,

I need to apologize to you, and to our attorney, because I didn’t wait on his review of my message before hitting send on yesterday’s email.

He had only one correction but it is not an insignificant one.

The City is not suing for failure to secure an occupancy permit, but for fraud to cancel the deeding of the property to AdventGX.

In other words, they are trying to take back the Ice House.

Fraud is such a nasty word. When I read our attorney’s correction I recalled having read this months ago when the City amended the petition to add the fraud claim nearly two years after the initial filing. Maybe I didn’t want to recall it. Perhaps I was confused by prior demands related to occupancy. But that’s the ugly truth of the allegations against us and the potential fallout should they succeed in this trial.

Of course, we maintain that all of our actions have been appropriate. There is no fraud here.

Still, one must be accurate and state facts clearly and I failed to do so in my original message. I apologize and ask for your grace.

Our commitment to walk humbly and model and promote virtue demands that we own our mistakes. This one was mine.

Thank you for your continued prayers. May we all walk humbly before the Lord.

Shalom shalom,

Joan

NOTE: Original message included below with error highlighted and corrected.

Dear Friend,

As I sit down to write this message, I am surprised by joy. I’ve not yet read the C.S. Lewis book by that name, but I am certain when I get around to it, I will appreciate it more than I would have three years ago. We’ve had a few extra things going on in recent years, and as supporters of our work and, above all, as friends, Jose and I wanted to take the time to make you aware before you read about them in the local headlines next week. There is a lot to share, so I apologize in advance for the lengthy message. You deserve our full story.

On Monday morning, Jose and I will arrive in Brazos County Court of Law to argue our cause before a jury of our peers in Judge Hawthorne’s court. We are being sued by Bryan Commerce and Development, an arm of the City of Bryan, for non-compliance with our performance agreement relating to the Ice House on Main. The city is making three claims against us:

failure to invest the required amount of money in the project;

failure to use 25% of the building footprint for retail;

failure to secure an occupancy permit. [CORRECTION: The City is not suing for failure to secure an occupancy permit, but for fraud to cancel the deeding of the property to us.]

We maintain that we have met and exceeded all the terms of the performance agreement and demonstrated as much throughout the course of the Ice House redevelopment project via regular status reports to the city. Namely,

we did in fact invest the required sum of money and more; and

we have in hand the occupancy permit issued by the city in 2018.

The question regarding retail was never a question in our minds and was never raised by the city before August of 2020 (two years into operations) when the city attorney sent us their first letter of demand to audit our business. They claimed that we were not conforming with our contractual obligations and specifically that we do not have at least 25% of the space redeveloped as retail space. We respectfully disagree. In fact, based on retail use standards, the entire building is a retail operation.

A bit of background. When we set out to redevelop the Ice House, we knew we had to do so in a manner that would be financially sustainable. We heard many wonderful ideas from community members and friends but when it came down to it, we had to proceed with an approach that would accomplish the stated goals of the project. Per the city’s request for proposals:

“The use of the building should include one or more of the following components: retail, entertainment, civic and other activities that promote the overall vision for a vibrant Downtown North as a destination.”

Our business model for the Ice House on Main is based on a flexible-use retail concept similar to a farmers market but on a larger scale. With this approach, the entirety of the building is retail; meaning, members of the public can:

rent the building in a retail transaction,

host catered dining events at the venue,

purchase tickets for and attend live music and other events at the venue,

purchase bar services and offer alcohol using our TABC retail license,

rent the building for conferences and fundraisers, and

sell merchandise such as artisan products, vinyls, t-shirts, etc.

These opportunities and more routinely occur at the Ice House and are textbook retail transactions. And, because of the diversity of use, our model generates far more traffic and activity in the Downtown North area than one could hope to achieve with traditional static retail establishments. Indeed, until we received the audit demand from the city attorney in August 2020, the city routinely praised the Ice House project, participated in many events in the space, and was very complementary of and expressed gratitude for our local community and economic development efforts. More importantly, because we kept the retail usage model flexible, we’ve been able to attract, on average, more than 120,000 visitors to the Ice House each year, contributing substantially to the economic vitality of the area.

You can imagine our surprise then, when we read the city’s claims. We were confused. The message was very out of sync with what city leaders had said to us and about us. They were well informed about the development plans and approach and never raised any concerns.

If you’re interested, you can get a sense of the city’s sentiment regarding AdventGX and the Ice House project in two videos below.

2015: At the city’s request, we were beginning plans for the Ice House project – https://vimeo.com/149816807

2019: We had been operating the Ice House for just over a year – https://vimeo.com/389163751

I mentioned I’m surprised by joy. It’s been a long and unpleasant road on the way to our day in court. And, what a gift it has been.

Through much prayer and discernment and many hard conversations, Jose and I have grown stronger in our marriage, and we’ve developed a clearer vision of our mission and life’s work. We have a greater resolve to use the gifts we’ve been given to leverage and advocate for free markets and model humility and honor in our business and personal lives. We understand better than ever just how essential virtue is to free and flourishing communities.

Sadly, Jose and I have good reason to suspect that something other than virtue lurks behind what is clearly an unjustified cause against our company. Just before COVID emerged, one of our tenants’ team members informed Jose that if we did not forgive their past due rent (which was more than 7 months overdue at the time; meaning they were in arrears before COVID started), they would approach their “friend” at the city council to make our lives miserable.

Since we had done nothing wrong, Jose dismissed the threatening message. The tenant’s ongoing lack of payments was putting Ice House operations at financial risk. As owners of the property and stewards of the development, it was our responsibility to hold the tenant to their obligations. Later, we thought it odd that a letter from our tenant’s attorney regarding our demands for rent referred to both the city and our bank. Still, we didn’t think much of it.

To our surprise, just two months after the threatening conversation, we received a letter from the Bryan city attorney initiating a series of demands. Despite responding to their letters, the city never replied nor did the city allow Jose to directly address the city council on the matter. Complicating the situation, these letters arrived during the pandemic, when the Ice House was shut down by government edict and we lost nearly 80% of our revenue. Despite our good-faith efforts, establishing an understanding with the city was, in many ways, unattainable.

The saddest part of this whole story is that it seems that a tenant in arrears who threatened us was indeed able to exert influence over the city, resulting in an unjustified lawsuit and unwarranted attacks on Jose’s character, inflicting pain and stress upon our small business, Jose, me and our family. We have been resourceful and accomplished a great deal for the City of Bryan and the community over the last decade and half, all with minimal resources. We are a very small business with limited finances and a small staff, but we are steadfast in our commitment to serving the best interest of our community.

Sometimes, the Lord moves us to new heights, and we find ourselves in unexpected places. When he does, I believe he opens our eyes to things he needs us to know and softens our hearts for things he wants us to do. During the months and now years since we received the complaint from the City of Bryan, Jose and I have done our best to keep our eyes and wills open to the work the Lord has for us here in Bryan and beyond. We’ve been disheartened, confused, disappointed, angry, and saddened by the city’s action. And, ultimately, we’ve been overwhelmed by the encouragement and faithfulness of dear friends and family and the gifts that have come through this refining fire.

And so, we are dancing, fearless and full of faith. Indeed, we are surprised by joy as we count the many blessings that have be born in this season of refining. Regardless of the outcome of the trial next week–even if the jury does not rule in our favor–we have already won.

We understand better our mission. We are more committed than ever to free markets and to promoting and encouraging virtue among our colleagues in business and those who serve in government. Together, Jose and I are stronger than ever. Our team remains small yet dedicated and our impact is growing as we take on new projects in new places the world over.

God is good. Our victory is in Him, and we welcome your prayers in the days ahead for us and for our elected officials here in Bryan. May we all walk humbly before the Lord.

Peace be with you!”

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