Berkeley Bowl seeks to expand, evict 70-year-old neighbor business. Lawsuit ensues [UPDATED]

Photo: Ethan Kaplan Photography / Kava Massih Architects 2009 FILE-- According to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior...

FILE-- Berkeley Bowl West. According to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court last November, Berkeley Bowl is being sued by the owners of a 70-year-old, family-owned metal anodizing business in Emeryville called Metalco for breach of contract, misrepresentation and violating California business practices, among other actions. less FILE-- Berkeley Bowl West. According to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court last November, Berkeley Bowl is being sued by the owners of a 70-year-old, family-owned metal anodizing ... more Photo: Brant Ward / The Chronicle 2009 Photo: Brant Ward / The Chronicle 2009 Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Berkeley Bowl seeks to expand, evict 70-year-old neighbor business. Lawsuit ensues [UPDATED] 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

There’s turmoil surrounding the East Bay growth of one of Berkeley’s most popular independent supermarkets.

According to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court in November, Berkeley Bowl is being sued by the owners of a 70-year-old, family-owned metal anodizing business in Emeryville called Metalco for breach of contract, misrepresentation and violating California business practices, among other actions. The suit stems from Berkeley Bowl’s 2017 purchase of 1475 67th St., Metalco’s place of business since 1946, for an unspecified project.

Bruce Kawabata, Berkeley Bowl’s director of governance, risk and compliance, responded to the lawsuit’s accusations via email on Friday. He said his company worked with Metalco on a new lease for four months before initiating actions to evict the business.

He said the situation can be traced back to Metalco’s original lease, which contained an option for a five-year renewal, with rent being adjusted to reflect market rates. Kawabata said Metalco chose not exercise the option to renew.

“Nevertheless, rather than simply evict Metalco, Berkeley Bowl offered [Metalco CEO Bill Beard] the opportunity to renew the lease for another five years, at a more than fair rate of rent. Instead, Mr. Beard rejected our offer and demanded a rent that was substantially below fair market, saying he could not afford to pay any more,” Kawabata said. “Berkeley Bowl then asked Mr. Beard to provide Metalco’s prior two years tax returns, to verify Mr. Beard’s claim and work with him. Mr. Beard refused to provide those returns. Only after Berkeley Bowl’s four months of good faith efforts to set a new reasonable rent failed, did Berkeley Bowl initiate action to evict Mr. Beard.”

In court documents, Metalco alleges Berkeley Bowl coerced its former landlord, also a defendant in the suit listed as Corder Family Emeryville Properties, not to extend its lease before the transaction to keep from inheriting a tenant. After obtaining the property, Berkeley Bowl declined to negotiate a new lease and demanded the business vacate the premises, Metalco alleges in the filing.

“There were other contiguous properties involved in the purchase, with whom we successfully re-negotiated new leases at fair market rents,” Kawabata said.

According to the lawsuit, Berkeley Bowl sent a letter to Metalco in August stating its lease would end on Nov. 30 and the business would “need to remove by November 30, 2017, all machinery and equipment ... and return the premises to the condition of general industrial use.”

Photo: Google Maps FILE-- Metalco in Emeryville at 1475 67th St. According...

Metalco alleges in the suit that its lease with its previous landlords required any new property owner, which in this case is Berkeley Bowl, at least to allow it to negotiate for a new lease, which it says Berkeley Bowl did not. Metalco in the lawsuit is seeking damages in an amount exceeding $5 million should it be evicted from their 67th Street space.

“Honestly, there’s no moving Metalco, not without a lot of time, which they didn’t give us, and a lot of money, which we don’t have. There’s environmental permitting, engineering, finding a property,” said Metalco CEO Bill Beard. He said the building from which he’s being evicted was built specifically for Metalco, including concrete tubs in the floor to accommodate the process of metal anodizing.

Before Beard’s former landlords accepted Berkeley Bowl’s offer on the property, which he said was around $25 million, the Metalco owner said he and several other tenants of properties run by Corder Family Emeryville Properties submitted offers to buy several lots, including Metalco’s 1475 67th St. address. All of the offers were declined, Beard said.

Corder Family Emeryville Properties did not respond to a request for comment.

“Berkeley Bowl is focused on whatever is better for them financially. For them, if they destroy a business that has been here for 70 years, then so be it,” Beard said. “Evicting us is basically a shot to the head for the business.”

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips