Bumsted’s, a sandwich shop and bar on North Fourth Avenue where a cold beer is the perfect complement to the house favorite Mickey Likes It turkey and bacon sandwich, will close at the end of business Sunday, ending a 15-year run in one of Tucson’s busiest entertainment districts.
Meanwhile, longtime burger maven Lindy’s on 4th will take over the space at 500 N. Fourth Ave., as early as next month, said Shannon Cronin, who owns Lindy’s with her husband Tim and son/chef Lindy Reilly.
Cronin said the new owners of the building across the street from Lindy’s current location recently approached them about leasing the entire 3,200-square-foot building, which also is home to World Wide Wrappers. Cronin said the landlord told them Bumsted’s had operated for a long time on a month-to-month lease and the owners wanted to get a new business in the building.
“They (the building’s owners) have been looking for a new tenant to move and we were the first ones to jump on that (now that) it’s available,” Cronin said.
Bumsted’s owner Scot Shuman said he and his wife/business partner Barbara had been negotiating with the landlord since September and thought he had a working understanding in November about terms of a new deal that included the owner making repairs to the air conditioning system and other areas. But on Feb. 2, he was sent a letter that terminated his lease effective Feb. 28.
“I’ve come to grips with everything, but my only issue is after 13 years I think that someone should have said this is the offer on the table … if you guys are willing to match it, I will go to the landlord,” he said. “That’s all I would have wanted through any of this.”
World Wide Wrappers, next door to Bumsted’s, also is out in the deal. Its owner, Ali Bagheri, could not be immediately reached to comment.
Bumsted’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday, their final day in business.
Cronin said Lindy’s will begin renovations and a buildout of the building after March 1. The restaurant at 431 N. Fourth Ave. will remain open until the move, she said.
