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Settlement reached with owners of Manny's Pub and Aroma coffeehouse before jurors are seated
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008
After more than a year of negotiations and minutes shy of seating a jury for a trial, the University of Akron reached a settlement Tuesday to purchase land owned by Manuel ''Manny'' and Colette Nemer.
UA agreed to pay $1.8 million for the Nemers' commercial property on East Exchange Street, the couple's attorney, Russell Smith, said.
The settlement was ''appropriate but not a roaring victory for either side,'' he said.
Manny Nemer said he had mixed feelings.
''I pushed it to the limit. This is not worth the headache. My health comes first,'' he said.
UA spokesman Ken Torisky declined to comment, saying contracts first need to be signed.
The settlement includes payments for lawyers and relocation fees plus the couple's share of a parking lot on East Exchange they owned with Manny's cousin, Joe Nemer, and his wife, Mona.
Smith said he did not have a breakdown of how the settlement would be divided. The agreement still must be filed with Summit County Probate Court.
The settlement is about $300,000 shy of the $2.1 million Joe and Mona Nemer received in September for their property on East Exchange and Brown streets. That settlement followed a trial in which a jury ordered the university to pay a total of $3.1 million.
The jury gave $2.1 million to Joe and Mona Nemer for their land, which included the Sun Bar and Grill and a warehouse that once housed a marble factory. The jury also awarded $1 million to Joe and Mona Nemer and Manny and Colette Nemer for the parking lot they owned jointly and would split equally.
The university bucked the jury award and negotiated the price down. Joe Nemer Jr., son of Joe and Mona Nemer, said the family was ready to relinquish the property and would look for new land on which to build a more upscale bar.
Manny Nemer continually maintained he didn't want to sell the land that is home to his two businesses, Aroma Coffee and Tea and Manny's Pub. He also rents space to Chopstix restaurant.
He said he wanted to benefit from the increased traffic that would come with the new football stadium under construction and a planned residence hall for 450 students.
While UA pursued eminent domain against a handful of property owners, Manny Nemer was the most vocal in his opposition. He held rallies and maintained UA was not offering enough.
This year, he bought three properties south of East Exchange on which to move his businesses. He paid $75,000 for 394 Brown St. and a total of $205,000 for 337 and 339 Wheeler St., according to Summit County property records.
While the new properties are close to the student clientele Manny Nemer targets, the land comes with a giant drawback: They are in the area the university covets for intramural ballfields. UA has been buying homes in the modest neighborhood for years.
The university agreed not to file eminent domain on the Nemers' new land for at least 15 years, Nemer said.
That concession was unusual. Only Harry Jackson, owner of the Odd Corner Store, got a similar promise from UA when he sold his land to the university and relocated his business from the north side of Exchange Street to the south side.
Jackson's deal was even more far-reaching. UA agreed not to pursue eminent domain as long as he owns the property.
Now Manuel Nemer is pursuing plans for a 4,000-square-foot building to house both his businesses. Chopstix restaurant will not be part of the relocation.
He said he will continue to operate at the current site until March and would be out of commission for several months while the new building is under construction. He hopes it will be finished by the end of the summer.
''The most important thing to Manny was keeping in business,'' Smith, the couple's attorney, said. ''I'm hoping they never touch them'' at their new location.
Summit County Probate Court was poised to start seating a jury Tuesday morning, when the parties reached a settlement. Judge Bill Spicer held motion hearings for both sides Monday.
The university has one more land issue to resolve on the stadium and residence hall projects.
Officials are awaiting the result of an investigation by the Summit County prosecutor's office regarding UA's purchase of land from the son of university trustee Jack Morrison.
UA agreed to pay Jack Morrison Jr. $110,000 for a rental house on Spicer Street, which represented a 40 percent profit in his year of ownership.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
After more than a year of negotiations and minutes shy of seating a jury for a trial, the University of Akron reached a settlement Tuesday to purchase land owned by Manuel ''Manny'' and Colette Nemer.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Tallmadge, OH
Posted 06:37 AM, 12/03/2008
Just another great example of people telling the government where they can put their eminent domain land robbery schemes. I applaud them for being tough with the UA.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:45 AM, 12/03/2008
I do, too, but Manny is still one step below Moe on The Simpsons.
Posted 08:15 AM, 12/03/2008
Akron U is one of the only buisness that works in Akron.
The reason being is Plusquellic and Council cannot tell them how to ruin their buisness.
I'm sure the City government is trying to figure out ways to take more money from U of A to support the government made welfare state of the Akron population.
akron, oh
Posted 08:22 AM, 12/03/2008
Manny will have a new bar right at the front door of the new stadium, what a gold mine. Good for him for not being shoved around by the Strong Armers at AU.
Posted 08:29 AM, 12/03/2008
"Officials are awaiting the result of an investigation by the Summit County prosecutor's office regarding UA's purchase of land from the son of university trustee Jack Morrison."
Sherri Bevan Walsh investigate political corruption? Yeah, right. Keep waiting.
Posted 08:36 AM, 12/03/2008
Hey Oldman, he lost $300,000 by taking this back to court. That is not being tough with the UA if you ask me. If he shuts his mouth he walks with more then $2 million for a piece of trash bar!!
somewhere near you, OH
Posted 09:01 AM, 12/03/2008
Great, the greedy neimer's have gotten their payday and the University can move forward with improving the school and the entire area.
It is a farce these dumps were allowed to stand in the way of urban renewal and positive advancement of the school and area.
If there is any justice in this world, the public will not patronize their relocated businesses, they will lose plenty of money and ultimately end up going out of business.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:41 AM, 12/03/2008
You are correct John. The city, the mayor and this publication continue to try and claim UA enterprises as city enterprises. They can't control UA so they do the next best thing. They hijack UA facilities and pretend they belong to the city. They do it to UA's E.J. Thomas Hall all the time and yo can bet they will ignore the fact that the new stadium is a UA stadium. Theyy have already climed it as a "plum for downtown". next on their agenda is to try and get UA to build a new arena across from canal park so the Don can call that his as well.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:44 AM, 12/03/2008
If I ever have to play hardball, I do not want Nemers by my side. They lost money with this move. It also may harm how their potential customers views them. Not a good move at all.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:52 AM, 12/03/2008
i've known the nemer family for eleven years now.
i started going to aroma when i first enrolled at ua in 1997. although i don't frequent the coffee scene anymore i can still go in there every once in a blue moon and be greated by name and genuinely be asked how my life has been. they are good, honest and caring people.
i am proud of the life and business that they have created for themselves.
as for stone throwers like alan, why don't you keep your negativity to yourself especially if there is no base to your opinion.
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 09:52 AM, 12/03/2008
Obviously Manny was only interested in the money all along. He has owned the buildings for years, but he conveniently took the bar back over just when all the talk of how the stadium was coming to campus and would likely be built in that area. He was afraid that the court wasn't going to award him what he wanted, so he settled out of court just before the trial. He got his payday, so now he can shut up and go away.
Posted 09:53 AM, 12/03/2008
UA has become a money machine instead of a university. There is more interest in building structures than there is in building minds.
Just try to get competent help to register. Just try to get competent help in negotiating the financial support and student loan process. Just try to get a timely response from ANYONE! No one seems to care. Just go through the motions and get a paycheck.
Professors that are more interested in taking their vacations than correcting grades. Mistakes that have caused many students to get locked out of required classes for their majors. Thus, requiring them to stay in school extra terms.
Hmmmmm. Maybe those aren't mistakes?????
The name of the game at UA is MONEY not EDUCATION. A sorry state of affairs.
Suwanee, ga
Posted 10:41 AM, 12/03/2008
Land robbery. Give me break. By time they pay legal fees and court cost which is included in that 1.8 mil settle. Manny actaul take for businesses and relocation is around 1 mil. That's what UofA offered him in the first place. The business were blighted dumps and Manny had spent monies to fix them up in years. He could have gotten the same monies months ago had he negotiated in good faith instead of all this grandstanding when he knew he was going to move all along. This was compensation people. He give up the rights to the property in Feb of this year. If, he really wanted to stay. He would have continued to fight that as well, Once he gave up the rights. This became a fight about how much UofA was going to pay him. In the end he's getting about what they offered him in the 1st place.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:55 AM, 12/03/2008
Considerin' Akron U had recently flaunted additonal monies on their staff, i.e. extra paid days off, it's no surprise that a settlement was made. Congratulations to Mr. Nemer for bein' steadfast on his position.
Akron, OH
Posted 11:55 AM, 12/03/2008
steve is right. colleges and universities are now businesses not educational institutions!
just look at the american educational system...proof for your pudding! turning out ignorant morons on a daily basis!
m, m
Posted 12:32 PM, 12/03/2008
Hmmmmm. If student loans disappeared, and colleges no longer had sports teams, what would the cost of a college education be? and ........... what would the graduation rate be?
Akron, OH
Posted 12:45 PM, 12/03/2008
This has been a huge windfall for the Nemers. They have put very little into the properties over the years and have benefited just because AU has decided to build a stadium. I doubt Mannys' Aroma and Chopsitx made that much in one year! They should count their blessings!
Suwanee, ga
Posted 12:53 PM, 12/03/2008
The only ignorant morons I see are the ones with the negative posting here about areas of Akron that should have fixed up years ago. You have a property owner who hadn't removed asbestos and lead from his blighted businesses. The fact he didn't control the business again until he found out UofA was going to do the stadium/dorm project and he's applauded for being greedy is ignorant. He brought the property on Brown St months ago and give up his right to fight for his property in Feb. This has been about compensation since that time and his grandstanding about wanting to stay put and laughable given his give up his rights to fight UofA acquisition on his blighted property. He would have never given up those rights in Feb if he truly wanted keep his property. He surely wouldn’t have brought other properties in the area if he wanted to stay in those dumps on Exchange St. Check the court records. He and his cousin Joe have been in the compensation mode since Feb of this year. That's not a property owner wanting to stay put. You never give up that right if that's the case. This was about greed for their blighted properties that most of the ignorant morons posting negative posts here wouldn't have gone to if someone put a gun to their heads. Manny Pub is a dump the bathroom doors have been missing for months. The Sun Grille has been a dump for years and give dump a good name. How do you run a Chinese Restaurant Chopstix without Chinese or Asian people? That not a racist remark, just question of if I want good Chinese food I’m going to a Chinese restaurant run by Chinese or Asian people and not local or another ethic group. That makes no sense. The Akron Police are aroma coffee only customer without them Aroma would basically have no business at all. We should be applauding a once dead City like Akron has something good going on. Instead it’s moronic posting hiding behind computer being negative about good things. No wonder our society is circling the toilet.
Akron, Oh
Posted 12:56 PM, 12/03/2008
UA will get Harry Jackson's and Manny Nemer's new property not through ED but by last refusal agreements. Let's face it, UA is the 4th largest public university in Ohio and Akronites should get on their knees and be thankful the university is here to lift up their community.
Ravenna, OH
Posted 01:09 PM, 12/03/2008
I wish I would have bought some property back in the day. UA would be paying my retirement at age 47.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:03 PM, 12/03/2008
i do see the advantages that the stadium will bring to the university...
but i don't see why the big boys of akron feel the need to raze it's monuments of hard work and history. so there are dumps (what city doesn't have them). maybe the city should be concerned about keeping small business and small business owners not just building a UA empire? why should akron staples like the civic theater and CLPA be struggling? because some claim to support our city when that's not the reality.
i applaud akron.
i live and walk within city limits.
i patron its mom and pop businesses.
i volunteer and am engaged in community activities.
i speak it's praise.
and i refuse to be another marching solider along the path of the brain drain to some new location!
people love akron but akron needs to love it's PEOPLE!!! that means supporting the betterment of all it's citizens...
remember we're all in this together!
hudson, oh
Posted 02:04 PM, 12/03/2008
More money thrown at the jocks. I hope they all break their necks - end the program - that way it won't cost me $250.00 for a book I'll use twice next semester, then sell back for $3.25.
Yo Mama, PA
Posted 02:11 PM, 12/03/2008
Hey Mark. The university doesn't set book costs. The publishers do. The professors and departments choose the titles for the bookstores to order. Supply and demand sets how much you get during buy back. Go back to class and try to actually learn something.
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:30 PM, 12/03/2008
Kate, The city of Akron has nothing to do with the expansion of the University of Akron. They are two completely separate entities. And, regardless of the fact that other cities also have dumps, that doesn't make a dump a monument of hard work and history. Other cities suffer from prostitution and drug abuse too. Does that mean we should accept those vices and some sort of quaint, historical legacy?
Monuments of hard work and histoty would be the Civic Theater and Hower House not the Sun Grill and Bar.
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:32 PM, 12/03/2008
and = as - sorry
Posted 03:54 PM, 12/03/2008
Finally the area will look anew! With dumps gone? WOW!
akron, oh
Posted 04:50 PM, 12/03/2008
Im so tired of hearing people like Kate act as if 'mom and pop' businesses are the best thing for
Akronites. Most mom and pops pay their employees minimum wage and offer NO benefits. But i guess that does not matter to some people as long as their tired idea of a quaint village is intact.
Akron, oh
Posted 10:28 PM, 12/03/2008
I will agree with Ron, the "mom and pop" businesses are not always the best. However, The University also takes huge advantadge of part time employees as well. UofA employs hundreds of part time teachers a year so they do not have to provide benefits. They also take pride in hiring those from outside the state of Ohio and paying them twice as much as the employees who have been dedicated to the institution for twenty years. The University is not exactly the devil, however not all small businesses are run by saints.
My Heart Is In K-Town, .
Posted 11:45 PM, 12/03/2008
The U of Minnesota (a prestigious football program in the Big Ten) in Minneapolis is building a new stadium, on campus, within the city limits. It's the new trend. Our new stadium will be a huge long term asset...enjoy.
Akron, OH
Posted 11:51 PM, 12/03/2008
@Mark, if you think your book costs go to sports, I question how you even got into college.
