Couple Say Pastor Killed Their Business

PORTLAND - A couple are suing a Romanian pastor and his church, claiming he ruined their business when he warned his congregation that their restaurant was a place of "evildoing."

Peter and Joanne Mann say the warning from Pastor Niki Pop of the Philadelphia Romanian Pentecostal Church forced them to close their restaurant in July because so many people had stopped eating there.

According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Pop told his congregation in February that the Transylvania Restaurant was an "evil place . . . sold alcoholic beverages to minors and maintained a place of evildoing."

Pop also warned the congregation that members of the church board would watch the restaurant, and anyone who went there would be excommunicated, the lawsuit said.

The Transylvania Restaurant - which got its license to serve spirits two days before Halloween last year - has not been cited for serving alcohol to minors, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

The Manns' restaurant didn't have a Dracula theme, they said. It was a simply furnished place that members of the Romanian community helped them open. It served Romanian, Greek and Croatian dishes.

On weekends, Peter Mann turned the space into a nightclub with disco dancing and Romanian musicians.

Pop couldn't be reached for comment; he's in Romania until Halloween.

Vasile Cinpean, the church board's secretary, said he was surprised by the lawsuit, but could not comment on what Pop preached from the pulpit.

According to the lawsuit, the Manns suffered $24,000 in lost profits, $500,000 in future profits and $60,000 for rent, which they say they couldn't pay because of Pop's allegations.

The Manns are financially ruined, said their attorney, Tod Eames.

It's not the first time someone has accused Pop of badmouthing someone from the pulpit. Last year, a Multnomah County jury awarded a Portland couple more than $250,000 after finding that Pop had falsely accused the couple of insurance fraud in front of the congregation.