A former Enjoy Centre tenant responsible for three of the facilities' businesses was locked out Saturday after failing to pay rent.
Bill Hole, co-owner of the Enjoy Centre, said the contract with Health Hub Holdings was terminated Saturday. Health Hub leased space for Water Garden Spa and Wellness Retreat and had a management agreement for Prairie Bistro and Prairie Baker.
"I never like to see a person who's leasing something end up defaulting," Hole said. "I'd much rather it be where the lease expired and they chose not to renew it, but unfortunately this case happened, so we've had to move ahead and try to make things work the best we can."
Norman Hendley, CEO of Health Hub Holdings, said the company was two months, or $128,000, behind on rent for the spa, but was up to date for the other two businesses.
Hole said the decision to end the contract with Health Hub was regrettable but necessary.
"It was just something we had to make a decision to terminate because it was just going on longer than we felt was reasonable," he said. "I don't like to see things like this happen, but it was our only option."
Hole and his brother Jim have taken over Prairie Bistro and Prairie Baker. Hole said customers will notice a handful of changes in the near future.
"With anything, when you build something, you find out whether it works and you tweak it and improve it and I think that's where we're at," Hole said.
The café, which was previously open on select days, will now be open seven days a week. Prairie Bistro's head chef is also working on creating several new menu items.
All employees were offered the opportunity to keep their jobs, with a handful of additional positions opening up to meet future demands.
Water Garden Spa and Wellness Retreat was taken over by local businessman Morris Kadylo on Saturday, shortly after the previous tenant was locked out.
He is the president of MK Group of Companies in St. Albert, which was involved in the construction of the Enjoy Centre. Kadylo said he has big plans for the 16,000-square-foot location.
"I'm hoping to have drawings put to bed by next Friday and construction to start shortly thereafter," he said Wednesday.
There are roughly 11,000 square feet of finished space with an additional 5,000 of unfinished space. Kadylo said he plans to add a salon to the area and is hoping to create a child-care facility.
"There is a need right now for child care at the overall facility," he said, adding many parents have expressed interest in the idea.
He said he intends to have construction completed in November, in time for corporate Christmas parties. In the meantime, he said services will continue without interruption.
"There was no interruption of services. We're ensuring that all former employees are being paid, we're honouring gift cards moving forward, so for all intents and purposes, it's just a change of ownership," he said.
Downfall factors
Hendley said several factors contributed to the ultimate downfall of Health Hub, including a delay in construction, lack of foot traffic and a lack of advertising.
"The abrupt death of the three ventures, sold for ($75,000) despite investment of millions of dollars and four years of work, is a painful shock to Health Hub owners and investors," the company said in a press release.
He acknowledged that the spa had cash-flow difficulties, and said negotiations were underway with Kadylo to reach an operating agreement.
"What we were seeking to do was to continue operating Prairie Bistro and Prairie Baker, which we were current with on rent," he said.
Kadylo said he was approached several months ago to work with the Health Hub to help find a resolution to their troubles. He said he continues to work with them to negotiate a settlement with their bank, despite taking over the business.
Although the spa was in trouble, Hendley said the "star attraction" at the Enjoy Centre, Prairie Bistro, was doing well, while the Prairie Baker was making money and developing a loyal clientele.
"We were about to break even on the restaurant, which in the restaurant business, that's a very good start," he said.
Hole was unable to provide a comparison for the performance of these businesses compared to others at the facility, adding that foot traffic varies depending on the time of year and events.
