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Former Erie food hall tenant says she’s grateful for another chance

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Former Erie food hall tenant says she’s grateful for another chance

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The owner of Taste of Love Catering, one of the original tenants of the Flagship City Food Hall when it opened in November 2021, says she has settled a lawsuit filed by her former landlord.

The Erie Downtown Development Corp., through a company called Flagship Complex LLC, is seeking $26,850 in back rent from Taste of Love, which vacated the market on August 31, 2023.

Owner Natasha Stewart, formerly known as Natasha Pacely, said she negotiated a settlement with the EDDC.

“We don’t have to pay $26,000,” she said. “It will be a payment plan that will be paid sooner rather than later.”

Drew Whiting, CEO of EDDC, said the organization spent most of the past year working to reach an agreement with Taste of Love.

“And although I haven’t signed anything yet, I expect we’ll have that done shortly,” he said.

Like other tenants in the original group of nine that opened the food hall on North Park Row, Taste of Love agreed to pay rent equal to 27 percent of its monthly gross sales, with 22 percent of that going toward rent and another 5 percent toward what the EDDC calls common area maintenance costs.

In return, the EDDC covered the costs of building and equipping the kitchens used by each tenant.

According to the EDDC’s lawsuit, Taste of Love Cooking and Catering Services stopped making payments on its balance after November 27, 2023.

Stewart said she initially did well in the food hall until her business gradually declined.

“I really gave it my all,” she said. “I stayed until I had nothing left. The food hall was a blessing. I’m still grateful to the food hall for allowing me to be a part of it.”

Stewart sees new opportunity in detached location

Stewart said she is now ready to start something new. She plans to move into space at 901 Parade St. sometime this fall, which she will rent from Erie’s East Side Renaissance.

Stewart said she was grateful for the opportunity offered to her by ESR, a group working to revitalize the Parade Street neighborhood by investing in people and real estate.

On Tuesday, workers were in the midst of construction. Stewart said she expects to open the building sometime in the next few months.

“I wanted to create a place where people from all walks of life could come together, sit down and have a good meal,” she said. “I’ll have extra space, space for my free annual Thanksgiving dinner.”

More: Erie’s Flagship Public Market will soon have a new tenant. What products will be offered there?

Stewart, who lived on the streets as a teenager, graduated from Mercyhurst University’s culinary arts program. She said she was grateful for that opportunity and is now grateful for another opportunity offered to her by East Side Renaissance.

More: New head of the Erie Downtown Development Corp.: “There is still a lot to do”

“I love how they took me under their wing and told me they would give me another chance to make my dreams come true,” she said. “I’m very grateful to them for that.”

Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].

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