SOMEWHERE, A LITTLE FAT BOY WITH A LONG MEMORY IS SMILING
By Dave Wielenga
DOWNEY– The car dealer who illegally demolished much of the historic Johnie’s Broiler in 2007, has lost his lawsuit against the city.
An appeals court last week found that a filing by auto dealer Ardas “Alex” Yanik had no merit and that Yanik failed to prove vague claims that the City of Downey was infected with corruption similar to the City of Bell.
Yanik sued for $300,000, saying he planned to buy the property for $5.1 million in 2006 but lost his $3o0,000 deposit after the city denied his permits. Yanik did not return a call to his office for this story.
Yanik was responsible for demolishing much of the historic structure in 2007. A the time, he was using the property as an auto dealership. The city stepped in to stop the destruction, but bulldozers had already wrecked most of the building. Yanik was convicted of several misdemeanor charges related to demolishing the property without permits.
Citizens worked with city government and Bob’s Big Boy franchise owner Jim Louder to rebuild the restaurant. It is currently Bob’s Big Boy Broiler.
