A popular Salt Lake City brewery was recently sued by its landlord, who alleged Shades Tap Room violated their lease agreement and fell behind on lease payments for the brewery’s new 1388 S. 300 West location.
The brewery denies those claims in court documents, and its restaurant in Ballpark remains open for business. This is the second time Shades has been sued in state court this year, though the other suit pertains to its location in Downtown Salt Lake City.
Court records say that Shades and the two real estate companies entered into an agreement to lease space at 1388 S. 300 W. in June 2023. The location is currently the home of the Shades Tap Room, which relocated from its previous location in South Salt Lake.
The lawsuit — filed on June 18 by Axiom Properties, a subsidiary of the Price Realty Group — alleges that Shades defaulted on its lease in early May for “failure to make lease payments when due and owing.” The landlords sent Shades a default notice around May 6, alleging the brewery owed them just under $20,000.
The brewery was then sent a three-day notice on May 12, the lawsuit says. After getting served that notice, the initial lawsuit says the brewery made payments that were due.
In a response filed June 24 addressing the initial complaint, an attorney for Shades wrote that the alleged defaults were not timely cured and the three-day notice was “improper under the lease.” The Shades attorney also wrote that, “any and all amounts owing under the Lease that were for any reason due and owing in this May 2025 time frame were fully paid within the 10 day cure period …,” according to the response filed in court.
However, the initial lawsuit alleges the brewery further violated its lease. The landlords alleged in court that Shades failed to complete work on the restaurant as spelled out in the lease agreement, including construction of a rooftop patio and the installation of all HVAC work. In its response, Shades denied those claims. The landlords also allege that the brewery failed to get their approval before making changes to the building — another allegation the brewery refuted in court filings.
The landlords also allege Shades did not provide them with certain paperwork, including a breakdown of Shades’ construction costs and invoices showing payment, a certificate of occupancy, a set of “as built” construction drawings, as well as other documents. Shades denied that allegation in its response.
Shades said in its response that the alleged violations were the result of a third party contractor, “over which Defendants maintain no control.” Shades also alleged that the contractor was vetted and approved by the plaintiffs.
On May 30, the landlords allegedly served Shades with another three-day notice, followed by a five-day notice to quit that was allegedly served on June 10. Shades’ response says the notices were served improperly and without basis.
The initial lawsuit alleges Shades owes over $21,000 in unpaid rent and nearly $77,000 in abated rent based on the defaulted lease. In total, the plaintiffs are seeking damages of $98,755, according to the initial lawsuit.
When reached for comment via email, Shades co-owner Alexandra Ortiz referred Building Salt Lake to the company’s attorney. An email to Shades’ attorney was not returned. An email to Price Realty Group was also not returned as of Monday.
A hearing was held on July 1 in the case, though court records don’t indicate an additional court date has been set for the matter in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court.
Court records show Shades was the subject of an eviction lawsuit filed in September 2021 regarding its location in South Salt Lake. However, the case was dismissed in July 2022 after inactivity in the case.
Court records also indicate Shades’ other location — Shades on State in Downtown Salt Lake City — was sued earlier this year after a patron alleged he was injured after being forcibly removed from the bar by employees in February. A hearing on the case is scheduled for August in West Jordan’s 3rd District Court.
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