It appears the brand new Rooms and Spaces (styled rooms+spaces) store will soon be a room with a lot of space.
Legal notices posted to the door of the homeware company's location at 1740 W Broadway on Wednesday, Dec. 6 announce the impending seizure of the premises by the landlord on Dec. 15 and the eviction of Rooms and Spaces as a tenant.
"West Broadway Centre Ltd. (the 'Landlord'), hereby requires you to quit and deliver up possession of the premises," states one of the notices from the the centre's lawyers (the centre is the landlord, in this case).
Rooms and Spaces launched across Canada earlier this year just after Bed, Bath and Beyond left the market. The new brand carried many of the same items, from bedding to lamps to kitchen gadgets.
It appears the new company, one of several brands owned by entrepreneur Doug Putnam, has defaulted on its payments.
Rooms and Spaces is the latest addition to Putman's retail portfolio, which includes Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us Canada, Sunrise Records, Alex Brands (including Alex Toys in the US), T.Kettle, hmv in the UK and more, according to a May 3, 2023 press release about the retailer.
Retailer served a 'notice to quit' for Vancouver store
"We write further to the notice of default dated October 31, 2023 and the notice of termination dated November 28, 2023. The Tenant's defaults have not been remediated," states the letter from the lawyers.
They note the landlord has decided to take over the premises and terminate the lease.
"In that regard, we enclose a Notice to Quit," writes the lawyers.
Additionally, the letter states the landlord plans to hold Rooms and Spaces "severally liable for any and all incidental and related outstanding amounts, costs..., and damages for the loss of the benefit of the remainder of the lease term."
The notices go on to state that the company has allegedly breached the tenancy agreement signed in 2015 for Bed, Bath, and Beyond's occupancy of the address. Rooms and Spaces opened the store in August 2023, after Bed, Bath and Beyond shut down its Canadian operations. The American office of Bed, Bath, and Beyond was cc'd on the lawyer's letter.
One legal notice states that all property must be removed from the store by 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15. If the company doesn't, it could be charged for the storage of the goods.
The Rooms and Spaces website (housed under the Toys R Us Canada domain) still lists the Vancouver location (but the site's store locator doesn't include it), along with more than 20 other locations. However, at least a couple of those locations are listed as permanently closed on Google, including the Langley location.
V.I.A. has reached out to the company for comment. On social media, it appears Rooms and Spaces has not posted since late November.
