BRAUN: Pick 6ix Sports as soggy as Drake's lyrics

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Drake: stop crying indoors.

The rappers’ Pick 6ix Sports restaurant has closed again due to flooding.

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At least, that’s the claim.

The downtown hotspot has closed twice in two years due to water problems.

Pick 6ix closed in the summer of 2018 for much-needed repairs due to water damage after a storm. It reopened eight months ago with a new name — Pick 6ix Sports — and a new menu, but the resurrection appears to have been short-lived.

Earlier in the week, a sign appeared on the restaurant noting it was closed again because of flooding issues. The answering machine at the downtown spot gives a reopening date of March 2020.

On Thursday, a second sign appeared on the door of the restaurant claiming the lease has been terminated due to unpaid rent. Nearly $70,000, according to property management, is in arrears.

“The premises have been re-entered and the lease has been terminated by the landlord for default in the payment of rent in the amount of $67,514.73,” the notice reads.

The termination date given is Nov. 18 — the same day the sign about water damage went up.

How to explain the conflicting signs?

According to a statement given by the restaurant’s operations manager, Jeff Darby, this is all temporary and the restaurant will reopen in due time.

Darby’s statement claims that rent has always been paid on time, and that this situation is no different. He says property management has been asked to remove their sign, calling it both unnecessary and inaccurate.

“We want to thank our customers,” he says, “for their patience and hope to reopen again in the new year.”

Project manager for the flood repairs, Phil Strunc of GTA Restoration, told CP24 that an HVAC leak from the roof filled the restaurant with water on Nov. 15.

Strunc said he and his team have been on site for a few days,  “Removing all of the damage and wet contents and then spraying the place down for mould and bacteria growth to make sure there are no issues in the future.”

Whether the restaurant is in arrears with rent or has withheld rent over the ongoing issues with water is something that remains to be resolved.

Either way, Pick 6ix is closed for the foreseeable future.

lbraun@postmedia.com