Owners Shut Down O’Brien’s Restaurant Over Rent Dispute

The owners of O’Brien’s have closed their downtown restaurant because of a rent dispute with the landlord.

O’Brien’s co-owner Brian Brennan, who is also a Ventura city councilman, said talks broke down between the parties over the length of the lease on the two-story Main Street building.

But Brennan said he has vacated the 10,000-square-foot space and is close to signing a deal on a new space in the city’s midtown neighborhood.

“I hoped that we could convince the landlord to grow this thing together,” Brennan said of his former restaurant. “I don’t feel any animosity or ill-feeling toward the landlord at all.”

Building owner Gerald Bosch said he offered Brennan and co-owner Rick Lyons a $5,500-per-month lease for six months, a reduction from the $6,200 a month they are currently paying. They opened the restaurant in October.

For the business to be financially viable, however, Brennan said they needed at least a yearlong lease.

“The hope was that we could increase our rent year to year as business developed,” said Brennan, who was considering an Irish antique shop for the second floor. “We would grow together and he would get more as my business grew.”