Dear Friends,

LEONARDO’S IS IN DANGER OF CLOSING !  We need your help !

As everyone on our list of supporters knows, this courtyard, where
Leonardo’s Italian Market and Leonardo’s Café is located, (behind the former
Rhinebeck Hardware Store) can now only be called a complete commercial
failure. This has actually been the case since the courtyard opened three
years ago as every original tenant that has ever tried to conduct business
back here has failed and left, the complex has been totally mismanaged since
day 1 and not a single new tenant has come in to replace those who have
left, making the situation worse and worse for the two remaining tenants
back here, Pique Boutique (which is doing poorly) and Leonardo’s which is
now averaging losses of $3000+ per month, each and every month.  The rent
and the triple net lease that obligates every tenant to pay exorbitant
amounts every month, is one problem, but one I actually don’t quibble with,
since I, of course, knew what the rent and additional monthly expenses were
when I signed the lease.  The problem of the national recession is an
additional burden and the very weak dollar against the Euro, which makes
everything from Europe very expensive to import, is still another burden.

Believe it or not though, the above burdens are not our principal problems.

Our problem is one – all that the landlord reneged on as far as what she
promised she was going to do to promote this courtyard. Indeed, three years
after we first opened, we continue to hear every single day, comments such
as, “Gee, I’m local and I didn’t even know this courtyard existed”  or
comments such as, “Gee, I saw your ad and came to Rhinebeck to shop at your
store, but once I got here, I couldn’t find the place” or repeated
statements such as, “You know, you need a much better sign out front, I only
stumbled upon this by accident”

I would say that over the course of 3 years, I‘ve heard comments such as
those at least a thousand times and, of course, I often wonder how many
times I didn’t hear them at all ! (Readers of this e-mail should know that
only the landlord can go before the village board for sign approval and only
the property owner can put up signs)

I have lived in Rhinebeck for 26 years now in the same house about 4 blocks
from the store. Three and half years ago, when I came to inquire about
opening an Italian deli here in this courtyard (when the courtyard’s
construction was still underway), I knew what my vision of the store would
be and I knew I would make it into a nice store.  I knew that it would be
very authentic and would probably be the only store around like it. I knew I
would market and advertise the daylights out of it because I actually love
marketing and believe strongly in advertising.  I also knew that I had many
ideas – things I would try, that all together, would make the place
successful. But even though I felt confident, I still said to the property
owner, (Connie Bathrick), “Ms. Bathrick, I love your cobblestone courtyard
concept with the tables, chairs and umbrellas and the rental units
themselves are new, so there shouldn’t be a problem there, but this
courtyard is still off the beaten track.  Now, besides all the advertising I
will do, and hopefully the synergy we all will realize by all of us
advertising our shops in the same location, I have to ask you, what are YOU
going to do to promote your courtyard?”

Here, below, were the answers she gave me that fateful day when I was trying
to ascertain from her how successful this courtyard might be (and thus how
successful my business in it, might be).  She stated:

1.  “We’re going to have massive wrought-iron archway at the front of the
alleyway that leads to the courtyard. It will be directly on Market street
and it will catch everyone’s eye as they walk by.  It is going to be large,
and really beautiful, 14 feet high and 12 feet across - and in giant 1 foot
letters it will say, in a beautiful arch, THE COURTYARD.”

2.  “Then, as you begin the walk down the alleyway, towards the courtyard
itself, people will see giant color murals that we will be hanging on the
walls of the alleyway.  These murals will feature scenes of old and new
Rhinebeck and will be in color, large and eye-catching in and of
themselves.”

3.  “Then, as soon as one actually reaches the courtyard itself, the first
thing they will see will be a beautiful three-tiered fountain in the middle
of the courtyard with a circular seat all the way around it.”

4.  “On the other side of the courtyard (the backside) where the little
garage is, we will have another sign up on a tall pole so that anyone
parking in the municipal lot or visiting the Farmer’s Market on Sunday, will
see the sign and be attracted to the courtyard.”

5.  “We’ll be placing weather-proof music speakers in all four corners of
the courtyard so we can play beautiful classical music at all times.”

6.  “We will have free internet WiFi in the courtyard.”

7.  “We will have lights strung across the courtyard which will stay on into
the evening and attract people.”

8.  “We will have a courtyard website that all the merchants can advertise
their businesses on.  We’ll post coupons for the merchants, tell the public
of specials and profile a different merchant on a monthly basis. We’ll also
be able to post information and dates for the special events we’ll be
putting on” (see # 9 below)

9.  “We’ll be featuring “events” back in the courtyard every Friday evening
in good weather….a folk singer one Friday, a jazz ensemble the next, and so
on, throughout the summer and into the Fall.”

10. “We’ll be conducting a “launch weekend” of the entire courtyard,
“introducing” the courtyard to the public, especially to the residents of
Rhinebeck.  We’re going to do a postcard campaign to every Rhinebeck
household and we’ll make it a special weekend with live music, perhaps a
radio station broadcasting from the courtyard, tastings, coupons etc, all
designed to launch and introduce the courtyard to the public.  I’ll also be
doing newspaper ads and radio spots and we’ll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony
and get the Rhinebeck Chamber of Commerce involved.”

Friends, these things that Ms. Bathrick told me that day, combined with the
beautiful concept of a cobblestone courtyard and my vision of what I knew I
could accomplish, absolutely convinced me that this courtyard would be a
“happening” place, a great destination and a great success, a place where
hundreds of people per week would be attracted to.  Every one of the 10
statements above convinced me of this and every one struck me as a great
idea that a smart property owner would indeed do to keep her tenants doing
well, which in the end, of course, helps her by having fully occupied
stores.  I was even confident that the courtyard would be so successful that
the high rent and other charges she was imposing on her tenants would still
be worth it.

Now, here we are three full years later.  There is no archway (even though
she received full approval for it from the village), there are no murals,
there is no fountain, there is no sign in the back to attract people parking
in the village’s municipal lot and/or visiting the Farmer’s Market on
Sunday, she never installed the music speakers, She finally installed the
Wi-Fi, but it took her two full years to do so (and of course, she passed
the expenses of it to the tenants), she finally strung some lights, but it
also took her two full years before she got around to doing so, and today
she keeps half the strands of lights off to save electricity and shuts them
all off at 9pm.  There is no courtyard website, there’s never been a single
“event” back here and she never did any kind of launch weekend whatsoever,
in fact, in the entire three years she hasn’t done one iota of marketing of
this courtyard in any medium.

Friends, things are now quite serious for Leonardo’s.  We started a petition
one month ago and in just one month, over a thousand people have already
signed it, but I can tell you that this will have no effect on her, since,
according to many who know her, she is a person who could care less about
what people think of her.

And so…At the suggestion of many of you, I am now taking the step of
providing you all with Ms. Bathrick’s office address so that those of you
who feel like writing to her about this tragic situation back here, can do
so.  Her phone number is also listed publicly in the phone book if anyone
actually cares to call her.  It is under the name CONSTANCE BATHRICK and in
some books, C. BATHRICK:  Her office address, if you would be so kind as to
write to her is: 15 Chestnut Street, Rhinebeck NY 12572.

Friends, despite trying everything I can think of to increase business,
despite our Italian movie nights, our Pensione Dinners, our Bella Notte
dinners, our nice afternoons for the benefit of the Rhinebeck Jewish
Community, our weekend specials each week, and all the other things we have
ever tried, we are losing money each and every month.  Indeed in the last 36
months we have broken even about six months and lost money the other 30.
Not in a single month, have we made a profit. We simply cannot continue
unless we have immediate relief in the form of reduced rent and cause for
optimism that the landlord will, at last, do something to promote this
courtyard. Despite working seven days a week for three years now, (in
addition to my other full time job), despite having a nice store with good,
unique (albeit expensive, I admit, products), despite having good management
and a great crew of workers (overall), we are in severe danger of having to
close our doors for good - something we don’t want to do and something we
feel will be a tragedy and a lose - lose - lose situation – a loss for us
and our employees, a loss for the community and, of course, a loss for the
landlord. We’ve pointed this out to her numerous times and still, no change
on her part.  We’ve discussed with her that this situation of a failed
courtyard could still be salvaged and become what the courtyard really could
be, but still, no change or action of any kind.  There is no other place for
us to go in Rhinebeck (I’ve checked and have three realtors constantly on
the lookout for me), and just about every landlord in Rhinebeck does not
want food or cooking.  Meanwhile, I don’t want to move the store out of the
area as some have suggested, as logistically, it just wouldn’t work for me.

Please help us now, as never before.

We need your continued patronage, we need you to consider coming out for one
of our fantastic Pensione dinners, we need you to come out for our new open
mic nights on Fridays where we have wonderful acoustic music, we need you to
try one of our special monthly Bella Notte dinners, and most of all, we need
your vocal support in the form of contacting the landlord and telling her
that you like Leonardo’s (if you do) and want her to cooperate and help us
so that we can stay and turn a lose-lose-lose situation into a win-win-win.
Please urge her to lower her rents in the difficult economy, and more
importantly, conduct the promotion via the ten things she promised she was
going to do (above) but didn’t.  As I’m sure everyone can understand, the
only alternative for a business losing thousands of dollars per month, is to
close it’s doors.  Closing the doors of a nice store, one that is a unique
asset and a good source of local jobs, would, in my opinion, be a tragedy.

We need help now.  HELP SAVE LEONARDO’S.   Please consider writing Ms.
Bathrick at your earliest opportunity.

Warm regards,

Robert Miglino - Proprietor