NORTHWEST TALLAHASSEE, FL \u2014 A Tallahassee caf\u00e9 owner says she faces eviction weeks after opening her restaurant due to a foreclosure that left her lease invalid.<\/p>\n
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:<\/p>\n
Tootie’s Cafe owner faces eviction weeks after opening, says her lease is invalid<\/p>\n
Latasha “Tootie” Reed-Hopkins, owner of Tootie’s Cafe and Catering, says she poured thousands of dollars into her new business only to be told her lease is invalid after the building changed owners following a foreclosure.<\/p>\n
“My dreams are finally coming true. My boys are grown. I can afford them an opportunity to know what it’s like to not struggle,” Reed-Hopkins said.<\/p>\n
Opening Tootie’s Cafe and Catering in April was the realization of a dream years in the making for Reed-Hopkins. But just weeks later, she says she was told her lease is invalid after the building changed owners due to a foreclosure.<\/p>\n
Reed-Hopkins says she signed a lease on February 23 with Lisa Washington, who she believed was managing the property for Eusebio Coterillo. She says she thought everything was fine until she received a termination notice from the new property manager weeks later.<\/p>\n
“I asked if this changes anything for me because, you know, this is my first time. She said no it shouldn’t change anything. Just send me over a copy of your lease and any information that you have which I did,” Reed-Hopkins said. “I received a notice of termination. They basically told me my lease was invalid, and I had until June 15 to vacate the premises.”<\/p>\n
In a viral social media post<\/a>, Reed-Hopkins wrote: “\u2026after just 1 month, I have had my dreams shattered after basically being scammed\u2026”<\/p>\n In the termination letter, the new property owners said public records showed “Knox Tallahassee LLC” had already been administratively dissolved before the lease was executed.<\/p>\n Washington initially said she had no comment when contacted, but also said Reed-Hopkins “was not scammed” and entered into a contract with a private owner of the building. The property management company did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Customers now worry about losing a business many say already feels like family.<\/p>\n “It just saddens me because she’s just trying to make a honest living, you know? And when you see someone honest work as hard as Tootie, of course you’re going to kind of be upset,” friend and customer Yarnell Mathis said.<\/p>\n Reed-Hopkins says she now wants other small business owners to learn from her experience.<\/p>\n “I hope that everybody can learn even if I have to be the one to learn from. Please make sure that you check out all credentials,” Reed-Hopkins said.<\/p>\n The family is asking for help to cover moving costs and find a new location.<\/p>\n This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. <\/a>
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