Updated 01/10/2013 04:45 PM
Comics Etc. Looking for New Home
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A fixture in Rochester's Village gate is being forced to move. Andy Battaglia said he received an email from Stern Properties saying it was terminating the lease for Comics Etc. after nearly thirty years.
Andy said, “Since I’ve been in this location I’ve been the number one comic store in Upstate New York.”
He runs Comics Etc. with one philosophy: people before profit. It’s because of that approach that Andy is taking a business decision made by his landlord personally.
“I got notified Monday my tenancy was being terminated,” Andy said, “I haven’t been able to sleep since.”
Andy's lease at the Village Gate Square in Rochester expired in October. Instead of a new lease Stern Properties told Andy in a short e-mail to get out.
Andy added, "You know 29 years of paying your rent on time you think you're safe. But I don't fit the current plan which seems to be turning the entire place into restaurants."
It's a reality Tom Kohn knows all too well. After being evicted he moved the bop shop to Brighton. He says his friends at Comics Etc., will learn there is life after the Village Gate.
Tom said, "He'll come out of it. And he'll come out of it in a better place, guaranteed."
While he isn't sure where he's business will end up, Andy now knows there will be customers waiting when he gets there.
YNN reached out to Stern Properties for comment. So far the calls have not been returned.