The restaurant sits on one of the highest traffic corners in Reno, but no one can seem to make a go of it.
Michael Bros.
Steakhouse, located at the intersection of Kietzke Lane and McCarran Boulevard, is once again embroiled in trouble.
The story begins last September, when Michael Bros.
Steakhouse filed for Chapter 11 after a difficult initial year of operation.
The restaurant's owner, Michael Atkinson, said he hoped to use bankruptcy protection to turn the business around, but by late January he had sold the steakhouse to Greg Zamora, a Fallon-based restaurant owner.
In March, Zamora took over, kept the same exterior and interior decor, changed the menu slightly and, of course, changed the restaurant sign to read Sonny Zamora's Steakhouse.
That didn't last long.
Earlier this month, a small sign in the window said Sonny Zamora's Steakhouse was closed and about a week later the big sign outside the eatery reverted to Michael Bros.
Steakhouse.
Why? The answer may be in a lawsuit filed in late April by Reno Loves Steak!, the owner of Michael Bros.
Steakhouse, against RH Properties South LP, the restaurant building's owner.
According to the suit, the restaurants assets were sold to Greg Zamora known in the restaurant trade as Sonny Zamora.
Zamora paid with a $200,000 promissory note and agreed to pay RH Properties South $100,000 for past-due lease obligations.
After that, Zamora was supposed to renegotiate the lease with the building's owner.
According to the lawsuit, that never happened.
Zamora never came up with the $100,000 owed to RH Properties South.
He closed the restaurant on April 27, and the lease was set to expire on April 30.
That spells trouble for Michael Bros.
Steakhouse.
If the lease expires before a new tenant is installed then Michael Bros.
Steakhouse "will irrevocably lose the ability to collect the sum of $200,000 from the sale of the restaurant premises," according to the suit.
Apparently, Michael Bros.
Steakhouse has found another tenant, Monty Madison, who wants to open a restaurant called Roadhouse Grill at the site.
The suit says Madison met with representatives from RH Properties South, who told him that he could negotiate a lease once the current lease expires.
The suit seeks to prevent that from happening by enjoining the owner.
It's unclear where the suit stands now.
Phone calls to the attorney for Michael Bros., the reported owner of the building and Zamora were not returned.
For now, the sign on the corner of Kietzke and McCarran still says "Michael Bros.
Steakhouse."
