West Highland pizza joint Pizza Alley reopened its doors Sept. 15. But its owner says that should’ve happened at least a year earlier.
Restaurant owner Khagendra Gurung sued Sunshine Construction and Remodeling last month, saying the firm’s unpermitted, shoddy work caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
Gurung, who also owns Tennyson spots Mazevo Mediterranean Eatery, The Funky Buddha and Himalayan Spice, bought Pizza Alley in the spring of 2024.
The restaurant, which opened in 1976, had closed in 2023. Gurung says in the lawsuit he planned “to make certain minor renovations and quickly” reopen.
Gurung hired Sunshine and its owner Ramesh Sondhi to renovate the place, paying $65,000 between April and June 2024, according to the lawsuit. Sunshine represented that it was a licensed contractor and could complete the project within two to three months.
Neither was true, Gurung’s lawsuit claims.
As part of the project, Sunshine was supposed to put in a new grease trap. Gurung alleges the firm never pulled permits for the work, but nevertheless dug into the parking lot of the shopping center where Pizza Alley is located.
In the process, Sunshine cut an electrical wire and caused “other extensive damage,” according to the lawsuit. Gurung claims he was liable for that property damage under Pizza Alley’s lease.
The lawsuit also claims that Sunshine didn’t pay subcontractors on the project. Gurung says he paid one subcontractor $11,000 himself so it wouldn’t put a lien on the property.
“The little work that (Sunshine) did perform was not as agreed, subpar, and caused substantial damage which (Gurung was) required to repair,” the lawsuit reads.
Gurung says Sunshine paid back $15,000 of the $76,000 total he dished out. He is suing for the remainder and an unspecified amount of cash to make up for lost profit in the year that Pizza Alley couldn’t reopen, court filings show.
Guring and Sunshine didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from BusinessDen.
Attorney Cara Thornton of Buchalter is representing Gurung in the lawsuit.
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