Scottsdale turns up heat on burned-down bar

More than three months after a devastating fire, what’s left of a popular south Scottsdale bar remains an eyesore surrounded by an open chainlink fence, discarded air conditioning units and shards of broken glass.

The remains of the former Sandy Rabbit Sports Grill, 2323 N. Scottsdale Road, has caused the city’s Code Enforcement Department to issue a notice to its owner to clean up the debris around the building.

As of Friday, the owner faces fines up to $2,500 a day until the site gets cleaned up.

Scottsdale fire marshals ruled the cause of the June 20 fire as undetermined, not arson, according to Lori Schmidt, spokeswoman for the Scottsdale Fire Department.

Elizabeth Rand, who has owned the building for 30 years and lives in Washington state, told the Tribune on Wednesday she is “not happy at all” about the situation with the property. She said the matter is in the hands of her insurance company and she hasn’t received any compensation for the damage to have the building razed or repaired.

Rand also said she can’t clean up the building because it is the insurance company’s responsibility. Yet, she’s the one catching heat from the city.

Rand is not receiving rent from tenants Mel and Todd Grooms, who operated the Sandy Rabbit and have 12 years remaining on a 15-year lease, she said.

“I haven’t seen the property (since the fire), but I’m sure it’s not a pretty thing for Scottsdale,” Rand said. “The insurance company is dragging their feet. This is ridiculous. I’m doing whatever I need to do to protect my property. I wouldn’t be the one who is fined — the insurance company would be. They’re the ones dragging their feet.”

John Lindauer, spokesman for Michigan-based Auto Owners Insurance, told the Tribune on Friday that he did not know enough specifics about the case to comment.

The fire at the Sandy Rabbit Sports Grill (formerly Deadbeats) caused about 70 Valley firefighters to go on the defensive while battling the blaze as the roof collapsed.

A worker at a nearby business noticed smoke billowing out of the roof of the sports bar and warned workers inside.

Malcolm Hankins, Scottsdale code enforcement manager, said the city issued a notice to Rand on Sept. 18 to get the property cleaned up and repair the security fence immediately.

“We expect the fence to be up at all times,” Hankins said. “There’s also weeds and vehicles parked around the lot that need to be removed.”

Rand said she contacted the insurance company about the open fence around the property as well.

Hankins said that code enforcement officers will do follow-up work after Friday and possibly grant Rand extra time for the cleanup to be completed.

Joe Lopez, assistant manager at the adjacent Smart & Final store, said he has noticed people getting inside the fence around the property, likely trying to see what scrap they can steal. When police officers patrolling the area go through the lot, the trespassers are already gone, Lopez said.

“Get rid of it, or get the building cleaned up,” Lopez said. “The building has been vandalized the last few weeks. I’m surprised the city hasn’t fined them. It’s an eyesore.”

Robin Meinhart, Scottsdale Building Department spokeswoman, said the most recent activity for the establishment was issuing a sign permit in April when the bar became the Sandy Rabbit. The Grooms family made cosmetic improvements to the building before the fire and hope to reopen the business, Todd Grooms has said.

Scottsdale police have only responded to one incident at the property, a burglary on July 5 when someone noticed a person inside the fenced area around the building. Police said when they arrived the intruder was gone.

Employees at the Discount Tire Company next to the Sandy Rabbit building hope to see the sports bar reopen.

Mike Newton, manager of the tire company, shook his head at the absence of the watering hole. He and his employees frequented the bar after work for beer and chicken wings and sent customers there while waiting for repairs.

“We miss it,” Newton said. “The workers there treated us real good and the food was great.”