Man. The Rick’s Steaks/Reading Terminal Market debacle keeps on dominating the local news cycle. It seriously, seriously does. For the latest in the saga, Tony Luke of (yup) Tony Luke’s has his PR consultant offering statements distancing himself from the feud:
“Luke was named in Olivieri’s lawsuit under a legal theory of “tortious interference with contract and prospective contractual relations,” based on the fact that market officials named Luke as Olivieri’s putative replacement when they confirmed they would not renew Olivieri’s lease. Until yesterday, Luke was being represented by celebrated Philadelphia lawyer Richard A. Sprague, who is also representing market officials. “This entire situation between Rick’s Philly Steaks and the Reading Terminal management has nothing to do with me personally or Tony Luke’s as a company,” Luke’s statement read. “My discussions with the Reading Terminal management were very general and preliminary at best,” Luke said. “And in those discussions, the status of Rick’s Philly Steaks was never even mentioned.”
Meanwhile, merchants at the market are worried their rents might be increased to cover the cost of the “A-list” legal and PR help that’s been dragged into the morass. Ah, Philadelphia.
Keep me out of this, says Luke [Inquirer]
[Image via Inquirer]
