We have an update on everyone's favorite local Mexidorian taqueria—and the news isn't good.
About three weeks ago, we reported that Cuco's had received a 30-day eviction notice from the law firm representing Robert Shelton, Cuco's landlord at 488 Haight Street.
At the time, the Campos family that runs Cuco's told us that they intended to fight the eviction. However, with Cuco's only having a month-to-month lease, it seemed that Shelton was within his legal rights to terminate the restaurant's 22-plus-year tenancy.
The only remaining options for Cuco's seemed to be to try to get Shelton to change his mind, or at least delay the eviction for a few months so that the family could seek a new location.
Neither of those options appears to have panned out.
The 30-day deadline passed on July 24th, and on July 29th Shelton filed a civil complaint against Cuco's for violating the eviction, or what's called "unlawful detainer." Cuco's received a copy of the complaint and a summons today at noon.
Cuco's now has five days to respond in writing. If they don't respond within that time, Shelton could seek to have the San Francisco Sheriff physically evict the restaurant. Shelton is also seeking attorney's fees, according to the complaint.
Owner Carmen Campos told us this afternoon that she doesn't yet know how she'll proceed, but she is determined to stay if she can.
"We plan to fight for our business to the end," she said. "Right now we're just waiting to hear what our lawyer says."
If you'd like to understand what an unlawful detainer is, the founder of the firm representing Shelton has actually posted a video explaining the process to YouTube:
We'll update in the next few days with any new developments. In the meantime, gather ye plantain burritos while ye may...
