has bought itself some time by winning a court injunction to temporarily prevent its eviction. “Real jerk wins the injunction. Here to stay for at least 1 year,” the landmark restaurant announced on Twitter on Wednesday evening.  The court order says the Real Jerk must deliver to the landlord certified cheques for January and February rent.  "The landlord is restrained from re-entry or otherwise interfering with the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the premises pending trial or further order of the court," the judge's decision says. More to come.

Real Jerk Plans To Fight Eviction

Source: www.thestar.com - Stephanie Findlay

(Jan 29, 2012) The owners of the Real Jerk restaurant have hired a lawyer to fight their Jan. 31 eviction date.

Co-owner Ed Pottinger says lawyer Albert Formosa is planning to apply for an injunction to delay the eviction from their Queen and Broadview location.

“I’d prefer to sit back and relax and run my restaurant,” said 55-year-old Pottinger, “but if it means it may be taken away from me, you’ve got to get savvy quick and come out swinging.”

Since Pottinger received the eviction notice from Bill Mandelbaum, president of Buckingham Properties and owner of the property, on Dec. 30, he has orchestrated an aggressive campaign to stay in the location that has galvanized his patrons and the community.

“The Save Real Jerk campaign is a symbol for how you want your new neighbours to treat old neighbours as they bring change and development to the community,” reads the press release issued recently by the Real Jerk team.

As of Friday evening, some 1,900 people had signed a petition urging Mayor Rob Ford and the city council to protect family-run businesses like the Real Jerk.

“We just need time,” said Pottinger. “All I’m really asking is a couple months to find the place to relocate, to take the staff and my customers with me.”

Mandelbaum, a 60-year-old real estate developer, says he’s not threatened by the injunction talk.

“The verdict will be what the law is,” he said, “and the law is that proper notice was given to them and they will not get an injunction.”

The Caribbean restaurant has been operating since 1984 and at that location for 24 years. It is, as it’s always been, owned and operated by Ed and Lily Pottinger.

For many, it is the place to enjoy a chilly ginger beer and a steaming plate of oxtail stew.

The Pottingers got news of their eviction earlier in December, while vacationing with relatives in Jamaica.

When Ed Pottinger returned to Toronto later in January, he met with Mandelbaum.

“After that meeting, I thought I better go on to step two, which is to proceed with what legal action I might take,” Pottinger said. “It’s the only recourse I have left.”

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Real Jerk. Since the eviction notice, business is booming, he said.

“We’ve been jam-packed,” he said. “It’s ironic that, now we’re being forced to move, that we’ve been run off our feet.”