A neighboring property sued Swig in District Court on Wednesday after the owners said Swig’s car-bound customers have been spilling over onto their property, blocking access for customers and violating a long-running easement agreement.
The issue has been bubbling since June, when Dirk’s Dry Cleaners flagged to the city that plans for the soda shop appeared to violate the easement by setting up two drive-thru lanes to handle an expected wave of people prepared to sit in their cars while waiting for sugary beverages.
The city approved the plans anyway.
The Swig Sugar House location was moving toward opening and even received permits from the city before Dirk’s discovered the plan would likely lead to lines of cars blocking their land.
Dirk’s had previously allowed a neighboring coffee drive-thru to use part of its land for one lane for customers. Swig then doubled the space before opening, and customers have reported spending upwards of 30 minutes waiting in their cars for a beverage from the location.
The easement was a way for both owners of the awkwardly shaped properties to maintain access for their customers coming and going on 700 East.
According to the lawsuit, the Dirk’s owners, Shane and Kacey Kang, have asked Swig and the property owner, a company called FBS, to stop violating the easement.
“FBS and Swig have repeatedly refused to do so,” the Kangs wrote in their complaint. “Defendants’ interference is both intentional and unreasonable.”
The Kangs alleged the drive-thru spillover amounts to trespassing, breach of easement and amounts to a nuisance. They’ve requested over $300,000 in damages and an injunction preventing any business using FBS land from ignoring the easement.
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