Bailiffs changed the locks and posted a closure notice on the door Tuesday morning.

DesRoches had until 8 a.m. to pay outstanding rent and operating fees to the city. It was his second default notice for being in arrears since being granted the lease in the spring of 2013.

DesRoches contacted city employees Monday at 9 p.m. asking for a 48-hour extension on the default deadline. That was denied. D'Angelo says the city gave DesRoches 20 days to make good on what he owed in rent and operating costs.

The normal period is 10 days.

DesRoches was given longer because he has disputed some of the operating costs.

In an email to The Spectator, DesRoches claims his health is poor and that he suffers from a constant migraine, lives on pain and nerve-blocking drugs and faces a number of surgeries.

"I have the payment and always have," he wrote.

He says he asked for more time "in order to finalize a deal for the assumption of the lease by a well established franchise group, ‎all we needed was 48 hours to complete paperwork … cash is sitting in trust accounts. The city was advised of this."

D'Angelo says the city would have to approve a new leasee and a deal could only have been finalized if DesRoches was current on his rent.

DesRoches refused to name the franchise partner.

DesRoches goes on to say that the city's action was short-sighted because he could have an operator with "brand and celebrity name recognition, financial stability" running the restaurant "quickly."

"Now … it will take the city months to have a operating restaurant … I will only transfer the (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) licence to the group I have been dealing with. I will not transfer it to anyone else. A new AGCO licence will now be needed and that can take up to 120 days after the new lease is signed by a new tenant ... it is unlikely that the space will be operational by the Pan Am and Junos of 2015 ..."

DesRoches has 10 days to remove his belongings and the building is under round-the-clock security.

When asked what he intends to remove from the restaurant premises, he wrote: "The law is very clear on what items belong to the corporation, and those items will be removed."

A number of established Hamilton restaurant owners say they are interested in the space.

"It's unfortunate what's gone on there but there's a fabulous opportunity," said Paven Bratch, owner of Radius Café.

"I think the city will try to attract the best possible operator and hopefully it will be someone who will bring something new to the city."

Peter Trajkovski, owner of the Edgewater Manor in Stoney Creek, says he is drawn to the history of the 1920s-era Lister.

"I feel that the building itself is gorgeous and has so much character I would love to have the opportunity to match that feel in a dining establishment," he said. "That old '20s feel. Speakeasy, prohibition, Great Gatsby. All of it goes hand-in-hand and with Edgewater."

The family-operated Edgewater is from the same era, built from materials taken from buildings demolished in Hamilton in the late 1800s.

Jason Cassis, co-owner of the Aberdeen Tavern, says the space "should be an attraction of immense proportion given the incredible exposure offered but in order to achieve that, fine dining would not be my first choice for that space."

He says the disadvantages are shared washrooms with the building in a public corridor and a lack of nearby population density. He says it would better operate as an upscale deli.

D'Angelo says the restaurant is now a "turnkey operation" and repeated that the city's $267,000 investment in the property is "safeguarded" in upgrades to electrical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems.

He refused to speculate about what the city could have done differently in the process to award the original lease. He said DesRoches' financial history, documented by The Spectator in June, was not known to them at the time and his proposal was the best one.

There were four initial applications, two of which were disqualified because they were in competition with existing tenant Mezza Café.

Terms of DesRoches' lease required monthly rent payments of $5,278 and monthly operating costs (covering taxes, utilities and shared space maintenance) of $4,222.

The restaurant was open a little over a month after opening well over a year behind schedule. It was immediately plagued by poor reviews and complaints about high prices. The restaurant's website then went black, with a message from the webmaster saying it had been shut down for lack of payment.

A few weeks ago, staff refused to open the restaurant, saying they had not been paid. It has sat empty since.

mmacleod@thespec.com

905-526-3408 | @meredithmacleod