Cocoa Beach’s Area 142 remains closed amid legal dispute
Cocoa Beach’s Area 142 remains closed amid legal dispute between business partners, as well as an eviction filing against both by the landowner.
In one court filing, the situation is described as a “chaotic” and “messy business divorce” that has become further confused by claims and counterclaims by owners, Edward Rose and the other partners in Cows in Space, LLC: Ryan D’Amato, James Morrone, and Marco Kozlowski.
While the owners of the business are tied up in a legal dispute with each other, the property’s owner, Giuseppe Conoscenti, has filed to evict the business from 142 Minuteman Causeway, alleging failure to pay rent and other violations of the lease agreement. Conoscenti’s filing claims that the tenants failed to pay the rent for October of this year and removed all of their equipment and fixtures from the building, which served as collateral, going against the lease stipulations.
Because the lease agreement went through the year 2030, the business owners may be legally obligated to pay the full amount, which totals over $1.2 million.
Area 142 opened in December of 2022 and quickly became a spectacle in downtown Cocoa Beach with a large open space that could be used for outdoor concerts and a rooftop bar, all themed after UFOs and extraterrestrials. In September of 2023, the bar paused its live music events while then sole owner Eddie Rose took on new business partners in attempt to grow the business further.
Closed since last month, it’s future is now in question.
Rose and those new business partners both dispute who are the rightful owners of the bar. “I brought in partners last September. They were gonna come in and take care of everything. But they did absolutely nothing and they failed tremendously,” Rose said. “So I took it back over in March, building it back up to where it was.”
“They then came in and claimed they still own the company,” he added.
Rose’s partners could not be reached for comment as of Friday afternoon. Phone calls to Area 142’s listed number are sent directly to a voicemail box that is full.
In a court filing, Rose’s partners has alleged that Rose was fired from their company, Cows in Space LLC, in September but was subsequently able to make unauthorized withdrawals of over $140,000 from company accounts, transferring that money to himself.
As part of the litigation against Rose, documents show he signed a separation agreement with Cows in Space in September.
Rose has vehemently denied the claims made in the lawsuit.
After Rose was let go from the business, which he claims was illegitimate, he changed the locks on the building as a way to maintain ownership. D’Amato, a partner in Cows in Space, then changed the locks back.
“The only people hurt by this thing are the building owner and the city while it’s closed,” Rose claims. “They came in and destroyed it.”
Cocoa Beach mayor Keith Capizzi said that whatever may be happening with the venue, which had become a popular hub in the bar and restaurant industry downtown, was unfortunate for the city.
“I’d love to see it open and thriving. It was a great place for people to hang out and have fun,” Capizzi said.
“It’s unfortunate that whatever happened has happened,” he added. “A lot of people including locals enjoyed themselves there.”
link
