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Residents in Normandy and Bustleton had complained that entertainment on an outside performance stage — which Hagen had added to bolster business during the summer months — was causing too much noise. Hagen, who subleased the restaurant space from Specialty Restaurants Inc. of Florida, appealed to the community for their patience as he tried to set things straight.
"It’s a problem spot," Hagen said of the property. "The only way to turn the place around was to bring in outside entertainment. It didn’t matter that we made the place better."
More than four years ago, Hagen’s love for aviation prompted him to enter a sublease agreement with longtime friend and World War II bomber pilot David C. Tallichet Jr., a principal in Specialty Restaurants, and open a top-flight restaurant and lounge at the city-owned Red Lion Road site.
Specialty Restaurants had formerly operated the property as the 94th Aero Squadron, part of a chain of restaurants that also boasted an aviation theme, but it encountered turbulence in the community because of reports of underage drinking.
When Hagen stepped in, undertook significant renovations to the building and happily debuted Flat Spin, he was confident that blue skies were ahead. However, several months down the road, residents started to take their noise complaints to meetings of the Normandy Civic Association. The city Department of Licenses and Inspections cited Hagen for operating an outdoor stage that went against the zoning requirements for the L-2 limited industrial district.
Hagen and the civic group’s leadership had ongoing discussions about Flat Spin’s operation but they could never find a common ground. After taking repeated hits from the surrounding neighborhoods for Flat Spin’s noise while insisting that the outdoor stage was critical to the success of his business, Hagen finally arranged in 2004 to turn the business over to M&G Entertainment, which continued operating the establishment as Flat Spin until last fall.
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The restaurant’s ride encountered more bumps when Hagen’s noise violations prevented him from transferring his liquor license to M&G. Hagen was held responsible for M&G’s taxes, which he said reached $80,000, and an additional $100,000 in liabilities.
Representatives from the city’s revenue and law departments said last week that they could not disclose any information about Flat Spin’s taxes. The Times was unable to find any contact information for M&G Entertainment, which Hagen said he is no longer in touch with.
In May, the city Law Department notified Hagen that he had defaulted on his property lease because of the unpaid taxes. During that time, with M&G out of the picture and Flat Spin pretty much history, another restaurateur, DiMarq Inc., had explored with Hagen the prospects of taking over the lease and was in the midst of refurbishing the building to open an upscale Italian restaurant.
Hagen said he had discussed the terms of a sublease with the company but had not finalized them. DiMarq apparently thought the deal was good to go.
"We thought we had a lease from Fred," said Sam DiMaio, a DiMarq principal, though he confirmed that a formal agreement had never been signed.
Paperwork was filled out, DiMaio recalled, regarding a down payment of $10,000 for the property. DiMarq was to pay an additional $69,000 over the course of the year. The payments, DiMaio said, would cover the excess liquor-license tax. The company, he noted, has since been repaid money that was advanced to Hagen.
DiMaio said his company was getting ready to undertake a complete facelift of the 11,000-square-foot building and already had invested about $30,000 into the restaurant when the city instructed them to suspend the work and leave.
According to City Councilman Brian O’Neill (R-10th dist.), who said he spoke recently with James Tyrrell, deputy director of aviation, property/business development, the airport management did not believe much money had been invested in the project. DiMaio said the harried nature of his firm’s move from the building resulted in the unfinished look.
"Nothing was quite complete yet," he explained. "Walls were half painted, half not."
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O’Neill said many issues, not just taxes, led to Flat Spin’s demise.
"There were problems on several levels with the restaurant," he said. "The biggest problem was the lease. The issue was the airport didn’t want to be dealing with Mr. Hagen. He wasn’t really their tenant. The airport was always left out of the loop. The community was always left out of the loop."
Tyrrell could not be reached for comment, but spokesman Mark Pesce said the airport has reclaimed ownership of the Flat Spin building and will soon begin soliciting applications from other businesses that may take over the site.
"What we are going to do is do a competitive process to see what type of business can occupy that space," Pesce said. "Flat Spin did default on their lease, and in turn their sublease to (DiMarq) was also affected."
Pesce did not have a timeline for the process.
O’Neill, however, said he still wants to see a restaurant in the Flat Spin building, though he frowns on the involvement of subleasing.
"The airport wants to see a restaurant there," the councilman said. "They’ve gotten interest from several people. We want a compromise that’s good for the airport and the community."
Much of the Normandy community is backing DiMarq, which visited the civic group’s June meeting. Civic president John Wisniewski read a letter he had sent to Charles Isdell, the city director of aviation, in support of DiMarq’s proposal.
Hagen is OK with that. He’d be happy to walk away from the venture entirely, he said.
"People think that anyone who owns a nightclub has to be a lowlife," he said. "I made the horrible mistake of getting into the property because I liked aviation."
While Flat Spin is grounded for good, Hagen’s passion for aviation continues to soar.
A pilot who learned to fly at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, Hagen first traveled to the South Pacific in 1995 in search of the B-25 bomber his great uncle, Maj. William Benn, was flying when he was shot down during World War II. Since then, Hagen has located the B-25 wreckage and the remains of several airmen who had been classified as missing in action. He has helped get the remains returned to families living in various parts of the nation.
Hagen said his search for wreckage "brings back a kaleidoscope of memories" for relatives of the airmen.
"The most rewarding part is meeting the families," Hagen said. "It reopens the wound all over again, but they grieve with a sense of closure."
Only time will tell if Flat Spin’s conversion to another use will bring a similar catharsis for Hagen. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com