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Former reBar Owner Owes $20K in Rent and Faces Eviction, Landlord Says

By Janet Upadhye | May 23, 2014 11:39am
 The restaurant and event venue reBar abruptly closed on Friday morning.
ReBar in DUMBO
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DUMBO — The former reBar space could soon be up for grabs.

The landlord for the embattled wedding venue has slapped a notice on the door saying that it owes nearly $20,000 in rent and may face eviction if it doesn't pay up.

Joshua Guttman, who owns 147 Front St. where reBar was located, claims former gastropub owner Jason Stevens owes May rent and other fees valued at 19,507.82, according to a notice on the venue's door.

reBar Rent Notice

If Stevens does not pay by Monday, May 26, he will face eviction.

Stevens was recently charged with grand larceny and tax fraud after abruptly shuttering reBar and leaving dozens of couples who planned to wed at the venue out tens of thousands of dollars in deposits. He pleaded not guilty on behalf of his company to the charges in court on Thursday.

Stevens carefully decorated the 5,000-square-foot space with handpicked items from a Staten Island junk yard and stained glass pulled from a rehabilitated building in Park Slope, he told DNAinfo in April.

He also made gates for the venue with discarded New York City park benches and commissioned local artist Craig Anthony Miller to paint an original mural on the brick entranceway to the pub.

"When I first came to the space it was completely raw," he said. "I tried to find beautiful pieces that have been discarded to compliment the bones of the building."

The feel of the venue compelled hundreds of couple to wed at reBar over the years.

"It's not so much about the money," said bride-to-be Heather Epstein who was forced to move the location of her wedding when reBar closed. "I fell in love with the space."

"We were attached to the idea of it," she added.

Guttman did not return repeated calls for comment. Stevens' lawyer did not immediately return calls for comment.