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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Restaurant owner wants judge to throw out evidence, split trials
Attorneys for Boulevard Haus restaurant owner Eva Christian have asked a judge to throw out “any and all physical evidence” as well as statements she made to investigators on the grounds that investigators violated Christian’s constitutional rights.
Christian is free on $10,000 bond after pleading not guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of making false alarms in connection to a burglary and vandalism incident that she reported at her now-defunct Cena Brazilian Steakhouse restaurant in Miami Twp. in December 2009 and a break-in and burglary she reported at her Washington Twp. home in October 2009.
Attorneys for Christian also asked a judge to split the charges into two separate trials: one regarding the break-in at her home, the other for the burglary and vandalism incident at her former restaurant.
In their motion to suppress evidence, Springboro attorneys John D. Smith and Mark D. Webb contend that a search warrant used to search Christian’s home in Washington Twp. on Jan. 20, 2010 was “invalid and illegal.” Smith and Webb asked that all evidence collected during the search, as well as statements the restaurant owner made to investigators related to the search warrant, be declared inadmissible in the legal proceedings against Christian.
The case is assigned to Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Barbara Gorman, who has not yet issued a ruling on the requests made by Christian’s attorneys.
Christian’s restaurant in Dayton’s Oregon Historic District has continued to operate while charges are pending.
One of the insurance fraud counts filed against Christian is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, and the other is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18 months in prison. One of the making false alarms counts is a fourth-degree felony, and one is a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to a year in prison.
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Meadowlark sets opening date for new location
Renovations took longer than expected, but Meadowlark Restaurant has now set a tentative opening date of Tuesday, May 17 for its relocated restaurant in the former Madison’s Bistro at 5531 Far Hills Ave., according to Meadowlark’s web site.
We first told you about the possibility of the move back in August, and Meadowlark owner Elizabeth Wiley confirmed the move in October, although at that time the projections called for the relocated restaurant to open as early as January.
The May 17 opening date “could conceivably change by a day or two, but not more than that,” Wiley said Thursday. Meadowlark will be open for Mother’s Day, May 8, at its current location at 2094 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, then will close that location to prepare for the move to Far Hills Avenue.
The relocation has been anticipated keenly by the restaurant’s patrons who live in Kettering, Oakwood and Dayton. Wiley has said the new Meadowlark will have only a handful more seats in its main dining room — about 70, up from 56 at the current location at 2094 Miamisburg-Centerville Road — but the Far Hills Avenue location will have several advantages that the current location lacked:
— a bar area where diners can wait for their table, a frequent occurrence at the often-busy restaurant. Diners who are sitting at the bar itself can choose to be served dinner there;
— two private-dining rooms that will accommodate large parties, something the existing Meadowlark often wasn’t able to do;
— larger kitchen facilities that will make it more convenient for staff and will accommodate a new catering operation that Wiley intends to launch in the spring of 2011; and
— an expanded liquor license that will allow Meadowlark to serve spirits and mixed drinks in addition to the wine and beer it can serve now.
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