MURRELLS INLET — A long-time Murrells Inlet restaurant that recently closed until “further notice” has not paid its rent in full since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
For a period of six months between 2019 and 2020, the suit, filed by the Ashby Kenneth Smith Family Trust, alleges that Prosser’s BBQ Restaurant and Buffet only paid a portion of its monthly rent and has failed to pay the full amount since August 2020.
The popular restaurant announced on Jan. 1 that it closed its doors after nearly 30 years in business.
“The defendant has failed and refused, and continues to refuse, to pay the balance of the rents due, late charges, and costs incurred by the plaintiff, all to the injury and detriment of the plaintiff,” the lawsuit said.
The suit claims that the restaurant owes more than $44,000.
Prosser’s and the trust entered into a lease of a building located at 3750 U.S. Highway 17 Business in August 2002 and it “has been periodically renewed, extended, and amended from time-to-time,” according to the lawsuit.
The landlord is asking for “all unpaid rent due under the lease, plus late fees, plus pre-judgment and post-judgment interest at the statutory rate from June 1, 2019, until paid in full, plus the costs of this action, including reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.”
Records show that the business did not receive a Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loan.
Messages left for the owners of Prosser’s were not immediately returned.
