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The future of The Dime, a prominent Old Town bar for a quarter of a century, is still uncertain due to an ongoing dispute between the building’s owner and its proprietor.
The exact details of the dispute and who is actually telling the truth remain unclear, but acrimony is evident on both sides. Who will manage the bar and own the building in the future hinges on a dispute that began last winter over a sale of the property.
In the time since then, the Old Town City Council was faced with the decision of whether to renew the bar’s liquor license, an eviction notice was served and a front window was mysteriously broken. These events have led to the unfolding of a legal battle that will find both parties in court for a hearing on the matter Oct. 4.
The conflict began in February between The Dime’s proprietor, Tim Taylor, and the building’s owner, Robert Modery.
According to Taylor, Modery backed out of a lease-to-purchase agreement when it came time to close on the building for a sale price of $200,000. He claims that Modery wanted more money at the time of the sale in addition to the cost of one month’s rent, $3,500. At the time, Taylor felt this defied the conditions of the lease-to-purchase agreement.
“The money we had paid at that point was supposed to go to the principal of the purchase price,” Taylor said. “This guy thought he was going to take advantage of a bunch of young kids and get more money than we actually owed. Obviously he has no idea what the terms of the lease mean.”
Taylor also said numerous attempts have been made to settle the dispute, including mediation, but Modery won’t budge. What’s more, Taylor said, Modery has not honored his place as a landlord throughout the dispute.
“The guy sends phonies. I guess they’re retirees or something, because they come to fix stuff and when they leave it’s still broken,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a leaky roof, a faulty fire door and a deep fryer that has been sent out for fixing a number of times, each time it comes back broken.”
Taylor says he would have been willing to pay for repairs himself if the sale had gone through in February, but he is not anymore.
In July, The Dime’s liquor license came up for renewal. At that time, Modery asked the city council not to renew the license because of the ongoing dispute over the sale of the property. Although Taylor acknowledged the dispute, he noted that an ongoing lawsuit was not grounds for the city to deny the bar’s license. The councilors approved his license.
This kept The Dime in business, but it did nothing to ease the rift between Modery and Taylor.
At this point, Taylor had hired an attorney and had sought the help of the superior court in Bangor, which he says ordered him to stop paying any rent until the matter was resolved.
Meanwhile, Modery offers a different version of the events. He says the property was to be either purchased or relinquished on or before March 2, but that Taylor refused to pay the amount outlined in the lease-to-purchase agreement, causing an eviction notice to take effect April 16.
“They were supposed to heed the eviction notice and they didn’t. They’ve broken the terms of the lease,” Modery said. “Now they’re making ridiculous accusations, and they think they have a legal right to stay rent-free until the court date.”
Modery claims Taylor and his partners owe $24,500 in past-due rent. He will pursue both this amount and a forcible entry and detainer at the Oct. 4 hearing. If granted, the detainer would allow him to repossess the building.
As a result of these events, Modery placed a for sale sign in The Dime’s window over the summer. When Taylor saw it, he took the sign down and gave it to police upon advice from his attorney. It was a cat-and-mouse game that ensued a number of times until the police told Modery it was within his legal rights to place a sign in the window. Currently, there is no sign.
During the battle over the sign, a front window was broken, forcing some to speculate over whether Modery was responsible. He vehemently denied the claims, stating that during his time managing the bar, glass was broken on several occasions.
As for the court date, Taylor says he is unconcerned over what will happen at the hearing. It is his belief that the court will see how unreasonable Modery has been. He hopes any ruling will put forth a sale price and allow him to purchase the building, settling the dispute once and for all.
Modery contends he has a right to sell the building, an offer he will no longer extend to Taylor if the court rules in his favor.
Both parties say that the property will remain a bar regardless of who is granted ownership.
