Taqueria, the most famous taqueria of the Mission, doubts its future with the controversial sale of buildings

La Taqueria's customers will soon be spying on a new panel stuck on the front window: for sale.

Miguel Jara, 77, and his close family own the taqueria in San Francisco and the building that has been home to the company since 1972, and the lines continue to burst through the door throughout the day. the evening. But now, a court-ordered sale, negotiated by a receiver, ordered Jara to settle on his own building – and threaten to move La Taqueria from his iconic place he was losing to him. 39, another buyer.

The Mission building and 25th Street is actually listed online since March. In June, Jara told The Chronicle that this was due to a dispute over inheritance that had ended up in court. The problems faced by San Francisco's most famous taqueria remind us that many types of tensions are threatening companies that are supposed to have become permanent. Earlier this month, the Mission's first panaderia, La Victoria, closed due to an intra-family conflict. Britex left his home in Union Square last year, 65 years after the collective sale of the building by the heirs of the founder. launch the fabric store.

"When I opened the tacos bar, I had neither credit nor checking account. My father helped me and put it in my father's name and that of my mother, "Jara said. His father, Heminio, died in 1990 and his mother, Clodoalda, in 2000.

Jara stated that he never took the time to transfer ownership of the building and that his mother did not leave a will. However, according to his lawyer, Quadra Coll's Jim Quadra, Jara had paid the mortgage, property taxes and building maintenance since the 1970s.

Jara said the sale was unrelated to the unpaid health care costs, lost wages and fines that La Taqueria paid to its workers in the last 12 months, after four workers had filed a series of complaints to the city and the state.

According to Steven Hassing, who represents six brothers and sisters of Miguel Jara, his brothers and sisters have for decades assumed that he owned the building. "They did not know anything about the fact that they had inherited the interest in this building," Hassing said. "They only learned that Miguel wanted to do estate planning and asked their brothers and sisters to sign cessation acts.

Two of Jara's brothers and sisters handed him their shares, officially giving him one-third interest in the building. When some refused to sign the document giving up their ninth shares, Hassing said that Miguel Jara had filed a lawsuit for property. The court decided against him. After a series of appeals, the San Francisco Superior Court this spring named Susan Uecker, an applicant, to handle the sale, and appointed Cushman and Wakefield as real estate agents. Uecker did not respond to requests for comments.

"We had a valuation of the building at $ 1.25 million," said Miguel Jara. "So I sent them a letter, telling them not to have to pay a lawyer and you do not have to pay a lawyer, I will give them you $ 127,000 each. The lawyer told us that they would not accept the contract. "In fact, Hassing's email warned Jara that La Taqueria did not have a lease and that it should consider having the brand name carried, suggesting that a new buyer could take over the business.

"It's much deeper than family conflict," said Miguel's son, Angel, who runs the business. "I think my dad's brothers and sisters are mean and are trying to drive up prices."

The receiver has not authorized Miguel Jara to submit an offer on his property until another offer has been received. Quadra said it notified the company last week that it had received a credible bid in the amount of $ 1.6 million. The Taqueria was to display the For Sale sign, which Angel Jara had recorded on Thursday.

The Jaras will be allowed to offer a counter-offer at an auction by order of the court on November 13th.

"We expect it's going to bid and that property will stay in the family, it will be home to La Taqueria, hopefully forever," Quadra said. At the same time, the lawyer appealed the court's initial decision, citing the fault of Jara's previous lawyer.

If Miguel Jara can not present a winning bid, the court documents indicate that he will hand over the property to the new owner within 60 days.

Jara said that if this happened, he could look for a way to move his business. "I think there is a building for sale in the vicinity that I could buy now if I could stay (in the current building) for a year while I redevelop the place, but I do not know it not, "he said. He is worried about his employees, many of whom have been working in the company for over ten years.

"We are in a fairly precarious situation," he said.