Business & Tech

Lounge Lizard Owner Sued By Really Good Stuff Owner Over Fire

A three-alarm fire on Oct 5. destroyed Really Good Stuff, Lounge Lizard, and two other businesses.

Two firefighters were injured on Oct. 5 when a three-alarm fire destroyed four businesses on Hawthorne.
Two firefighters were injured on Oct. 5 when a three-alarm fire destroyed four businesses on Hawthorne. (Portland Fire & Rescue)

PORTLAND, OR — Their businesses were just two doors down in a shared complex on Hawthorne. Now, the owners of Lounge Lizard and Really Good Stuff are on the opposite sides of a lawsuit.

Both businesses – along with Riyadh's Lebanese Restaurant and Thai Touch – were destroyed when a fire burned through the complex that they shared at 13th and Hawthorne on Oct. 5.


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On Oct. 22, Really Good Stuff owner Evan Shlaes filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court stating that all of his store's contents were destroyed. He is seeking $250,000.

In his suit, Shlaes lays the blame at the feet of the Lounge Lizard, arguing the fire started in vent system of the Lounge Lizard's paint room.

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"The fire started because the Lounge Lizard vent system was dirty, coated with the residue of flammable materials, was serviced by substandard electrical appliances and wiring, and not properly inspected and maintained," the suit states.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the fire.

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