Massachusetts cafe owners near Smith College lose their lease

From The Boston Globe: Smith College in Northampton, Mass., is finishing construction this summer on the $73 million, 140,000-square-foot Ford Hall, a science and engineering center. But owners of the Green Street Café, in college-owned space next door to the new building, say Smith is elbowing them out of the way. Last week, college trustees sent the cash-strapped café a letter terminating its lease for missing rent payments. The restaurant owners contend that the college promised to relocate them but has not followed through, leaving them to suffer during two years of construction, including an eight-month closure. The feud has bitterly divided two institutions that were once a model of town-gown relations, and made things awkward for faculty and alumnae caught between their school and their love of a good meal.