Roosterfish is the subject of an eviction lawsuit brought by the landlord of its West Hollywood location, which alleges the bar's tenant owes roughly $111,000 in unpaid rent. 8948 Santa Monica Partners LLC filed the unlawful-detainer case against Weho 8948 LLC, seeking possession of the property and a daily holdover charge while the case remains unresolved.
According to a copy of the complaint reviewed by Trellis Law, the landlord served Weho 8948 LLC with a five-day notice to pay or vacate on July 14. The notice expired July 21 without payment, the landlord alleges. The suit, filed Aug. 4 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks $111,384 in back rent, termination of the lease and $1,892.80 per day beginning July 22 for each day Roosterfish remains in the space, according to the complaint. WEHOonline reported that the landlord's calculation covers $54,600 allegedly owed for June and $56,784 for July.
A Decade-Long Lease With Rent Set to Nearly Triple
Roosterfish signed a 10-year lease for the former Pump property in July 2023, with the term running through July 2033 and three additional five-year renewal options built in, per the complaint detailed by WEHOonline. Base rent started at $52,500 a month, according to The Real Deal, which reported the rate worked out to about $8 per square foot at signing. Roosterfish also put down a $157,000 security deposit and was made responsible for 100 percent of the property's operating expenses under the lease terms, court records show.
The lease schedule built in steady increases over the decade. Rent was set to climb to $56,784 a month for months 25 through 36, then $59,055.36 for months 37 through 48, $61,417.57 for months 49 through 60, and $63,874.27 for months 61 through 72, according to the lease schedule cited in the complaint. Further steps pushed the rate to $66,429.24 for months 73 through 84 and $69,086.41 for months 85 through 96, before topping out at $71,849.87 a month — or $862,198.40 a year — for the final stretch of the lease. The Real Deal reported that by the end of the term, Roosterfish would have been paying roughly $11 per square foot, or about $860,000 annually.
What preceded the dispute—and the wider business context
The current case followed an earlier landlord-tenant dispute at the same address. According to the Los Angeles Blade, 8948 Santa Monica Partners LLC separately sued P U M P, LLC and other parties on Aug. 1, 2023, after the former Pump tenancy at 8948 Santa Monica Boulevard ended. That was a distinct case from the current action against Weho 8948 LLC, which took the space for Roosterfish.
Who's Behind the Tenant Entity
Weho 8948 LLC, the tenant named in the suit, is connected to Mario Vollera, Patrick Brunet, Alex Tapia and Vincent Tapia, according to WeHo Times. Vollera told The Real Deal that he and Brunet are no longer part of Roosterfish WeHo, though the outlet reported that both men signed the lease and are guarantors, based on copies included in the complaint. Roosterfish itself grew out of an iconic Venice bar that expanded into West Hollywood in 2023, moving into the space after Pump closed that July following about a decade at the location, per the same account from WeHo Times.
The property at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Robertson includes roughly 2,500 square feet of ground-floor restaurant and bar space, another 1,000 square feet upstairs, and nearly 3,000 square feet of outdoor patio, according to the complaint cited by WEHOonline. WeHo Times has separately described the space as approximately 6,000 square feet in total — a discrepancy the two accounts do not reconcile. The lawsuit itself does not establish that Roosterfish has already been removed from the property, and WEHOonline reports the bar has not been physically evicted as of publication.
A Spring Overhaul, Then a Reorganization
The rent dispute comes just months after Roosterfish poured money into a major property overhaul. Per WEHOonline, the bar installed a rooster mural on May 29, added a five-foot disco ball, a new DJ booth and upgraded lighting as part of renovations planned that May. WeHo Times separately reported that Roosterfish underwent a reorganization in ownership alongside major renovations this past spring, which included the installation of the same mural at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and North Robertson Boulevard.
Even with the fresh look, the location has continued to face outside pressures. WEHOonline reports that unlicensed hot dog carts lined the Santa Monica Boulevard stretch outside Roosterfish, with rainbow district businesses in West Hollywood reporting smoke and food odors, blocked storefronts, and fights connected to the illegal vending operations. In June, an unlicensed vendor was arrested after confronting a Roosterfish employee who had called sheriff's deputies, according to WEHOonline. People familiar with the bar's operations told the outlet that these outside conditions cost Roosterfish customers over a period of months and added to its financial pressure, with one person familiar with operations saying the business was too far in debt to recover under its high operating costs.
West Hollywood's sidewalk-vending rules require anyone conducting sidewalk vending activities to obtain a Sidewalk Vendor Business License, according to the City of West Hollywood. That licensing requirement provides regulatory context for the complaints described above but, by itself, does not establish a cause of Roosterfish's financial problems. In a separate West Hollywood example, Eater LA reported that The Belmont closed Aug. 31, 2026, with its owner citing rising taxes, labor costs and a lack of city support; unlike Roosterfish, that account concerned a business closure rather than an eviction suit over alleged unpaid rent.
A Separate Wage Lawsuit From a Former Employee
The rent case is not the only legal fight tied to the business. Former employee Christopher Traweek sued Weho 8948 LLC along with Alex Tapia and Vincent Tapia in March, alleging unpaid overtime, minimum-wage violations, missed meal and rest periods, and unpaid final wages, according to WEHOonline. Traweek worked at Roosterfish from January 2024 until November 2025, and his lawsuit described Alex Tapia and Vincent Tapia as managers and members effectively in charge of the operation. Those allegations have not been adjudicated in court, and the landlord's claims in the rent case likewise remain allegations until the underlying case is resolved.
Space Back on the Market Amid the Litigation
Even as the unlawful-detainer case moves through court, the property is being marketed again. WeHo Times reported that the space was advertised for lease by CityStreet Commercial, sitting directly next to The Abbey and Chapel in West Hollywood's Rainbow District. The listing does not publicly disclose an asking lease price, nor does it indicate that Roosterfish is closing or provide any timeline for a change in ownership or tenancy, according to the same WeHo Times report.
