Punta Gorda grants shop owners early lease termination

After months of uncertainty and two devastating storms, longtime downtown business owners Patricia Haley-Herndon and Stephan Herndon will leave the Herald Court Centre with City Council’s approval, ending their leases for Punta Gorda Chocolate & Wine and Punta Gorda Coffee & Tea.

The unanimous Nov. 19 vote followed a lengthy and, at times, tense discussion about the city’s financial exposure, its responsibilities to tenants and the future of the beleaguered Herald Court complex, which took on 4½ feet of storm surge during hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Both businesses were inundated with water and muck, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to city property and to the Herndons’ inventory.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, the couple were preparing to open a consolidated operation at 1107 W. Marion Ave., Suite 119, in the former SunTrust building behind the Visual Arts Center. The new location sits at a higher elevation than Herald Court, a key factor after two significant floods left their businesses repeatedly vulnerable.

The storms were only part of their hardship. Haley-Herndon also reported to police that $10,000 worth of Haley Handcrafted Chocolates — the other business she owns — had been stolen. When Mayor Debi Lux asked whether she had filed a report, Haley-Herndon said she had.

City records show Punta Gorda spent $54,900 repairing the two leased units after the 2024 floods. Finance staff told council members the city stood to lose an additional $31,138 in rent revenue if the leases ended early. The question of whether the city should absorb those losses split council members early in the discussion.

Lux initially favored holding the couple to their contract until new tenants were found. But City Manager Melissa Lockhart strongly disagreed.

“Are we trying to be supportive of businesses in Punta Gorda, or are we trying to bankrupt them,” she said.

Another dispute emerged over communication. Lux said she first learned of the Herndons’ request earlier that week. Haley-Herndon countered that she had emailed the city manager in March with a detailed list of damages and a request to terminate the leases because they no longer believed the city could protect their assets.

Reichert said she did not see the letter and would have forwarded it to council members if she had received it.

Although the city recently purchased Tiger Dams to help protect Herald Court, the Herndons said they heard about the new barriers through third parties rather than directly from the city. Lux pushed back, arguing the couple should have followed up with staff. “We have to look at this as our own checkbook,” she said.

Council member Janis Denton suggested a compromise requiring the Herndons to pay rent through Dec. 31 while the city worked to find new tenants by Jan. 1. Lux continued signaling she would not support terminating the leases. Council member Greg Julian, however, sided with Lockhart, saying the city’s posture risked driving the couple into bankruptcy.

Lockhart then made the motion to terminate the leases. “It’s the cost of doing business,” she said, warning that otherwise the city would look like “bullies.”

Council members also weighed the potential cost of litigation if the Herndons challenged the leases in court. After consultation with Finance Manager Kristin Simeone, Council asked whether the couple would agree to forfeit their one-month security deposit for each business and pay $855 toward their property tax obligations.

The Herndons agreed, prompting the unanimous vote to end both leases effective Nov. 30.

In a letter to the city, they wrote, “Going forward, we will represent the city of Punta Gorda with the same passion and sense of community in our new destination as we have for the past decade at our Herald Court locations.”

Reichert said the city has installed hardware for Tiger Dams, replaced gaskets and improved fasteners at Herald Court, but acknowledged that barriers placed ahead of hurricanes Helene and Milton still allowed water to seep through — an issue previously discussed at multiple Council meetings.