Planet Hollywood shuts doors in downtown Seattle

After a summer-long dispute with its landlord over missed rent payments, Planet Hollywood closed its restaurant in downtown Seattle yesterday.

The Florida-based chain, whose original investors included movie stars Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 1999 and has posted losses for the past several years.

Planet Hollywood spokeswoman Amy Sadowsky said the closure of the Seattle restaurant, which opened on Sixth Avenue in 1996, is part of the chain's restructuring.

"These are tough decisions when you've been in a place for five years, as we have been in Seattle," Sadowsky said. "But we examined our finances there and our potential for growth and reached the conclusion that it would be best to shut down."

The company is re-evaluating restaurants in other cities, Sadowsky said, but she did not elaborate.

On Aug. 13, property owners Rosche Meridian Interests filed a complaint in King County Superior Court, claiming Planet Hollywood had missed two months of rent payments totaling nearly $142,000. Rosche Meridian owns the Meridian Center retail complex, whose tenants include NikeTown, GameWorks and the Cineplex Odeon Theaters.

Broh Landsman, the Seattle attorney representing Rosche Meridian, said the company agreed late last month to pay $120,000 in back rent and to surrender the premises by midnight yesterday. The owners will allow Planet Hollywood to move out over several days.

The owners hope to land a new tenant as soon as possible, but "in this market, we don't know how long that will take," Landsman said.

In the meantime, Landsman said the owners will hold Planet Hollywood responsible for the remainder of its lease, which expires Jan. 31.

Jake Batsell can be reached at 206-464-2718 or jbatsell@seattletimes.com.