Longtime and new customers of Mount Everest Indian Cuisine found that the restaurant had closed its doors last month. Located on N. Santa Cruz, near Edna Ray's and Mountain Mike's Pizza, Mount Everest had been in the Los Gatos Shopping Center for 15 years.

According to owner Harminder Parhar, the restaurant closed because of a rent increase. Parhar said the new landlord of the property had raised the rent from $3,000 to $6,000 and was unwilling to compromise. As a result, Mount Everest moved on July 13—less than two weeks after its lease expired.

Town records indicate that Los Gatan Jim Zanardi purchased part of the shopping center in May. Jesse Jack, Zanardi's attorney, said that he did not know how much the rent increase was.

"Yes, the rent's increased. It hadn't increased in five years. It's increased to what the other tenants are paying," Jack said.

Jack said Mount Everest was not forced out. "If it's not fair, you have a choice. You don't have to rent," Jack said. "That's the marketplace at work." If the rent is too high, even for other tenants, Zanardi "will have to sit with an empty building," Jack said.

Parhar said he heard about the land sale in June. The new landlord, however, never introduced himself to the tenants, he said.

Parhar asked for an extension of the lease, he said, but was told he would have to pay the increased rate.

Town records state that Zanardi paid $1.1 million for approximately 3,800 square feet of the building. According to other tenants, Zanardi had purchased another section of the shopping center last year and raised many of those rents.

"He is fighting everyone. That's why I didn't want to fight. I just handed over the keys," Parhar said. Parhar thought it would cost too much to fight it out in court and instead is looking for a new site.

"Even if you raise the rent, you should raise it by $300, $400, $500—not more than double it," Parhar said. "A city needs to have rent control."

According to Colliers International Vice President John Machado, however, the going rate for retail in that part of town is $2.75 to $3 per square foot.

The size of Mount Everest, Parhar said, is 1,800 or 1,900 square feet.

Jack said the restaurant would have closed its doors anyway, even without a rent increase, because of health and sanitation issues. The restaurant was "one of the filthiest that you could ever find," Jack said, adding that a health department inspection would have forced it to shut down.

Jack said Zanardi does not yet have plans for the space but is in the midst of cleaning it up.