Judge rules in favor of Farmers Park in restaurant lawsuit

SBJ file photo

Metropolitan Farmer and Barley, Wheat and Rye closed in early 2018.

Last edited 1:48 p.m., July 29, 2019

The operators of south-side development Farmers Park won a judgment in a lawsuit filed last year against a former restaurant tenant.

Judge Ron Carrier’s July 22 judgment requires Blue Farmer LLC, dba Metropolitan Farmer, and Blue Rye LLC, dba Barley, Wheat and Rye, to pay $169,080. Barley, Wheat and Rye was the top-floor bar of Metropolitan Farmer. Jennifer Grace-Duran, who’s listed as the owner of both entities via Missouri secretary of state filings, declined to comment on the judgment.

Metropolitan Farmer and Barley, Wheat and Rye closed in January 2018, shortly after Farmers Park filed suit seeking back rent and late fees.

Blue Farmer was ordered to pay $107,796, with Blue Rye required to pay $61,283. The amounts comprise unpaid rent, late fees, attorney fees and court costs, according to the judgment.

In the space once occupied by Metropolitan Farmer and Barley, Wheat and Rye, the Progress restaurant and its upstairs bar space called Reverie opened in late 2018.

The conclusion of the Farmers Park lawsuit was first reported by the Springfield News-Leader.