Max's Ice Cream's Landlords to Respond to Lease Termination Controversy

After several weeks of silence, the landlords behind the Max's Ice Cream lease termination hubbub will make a public statement about their properties in Glover Park, according to Washingtonian. 

Max's Best Ice Cream, a popular local ice cream store, was notified last month that its lease would be terminated after 20 years at the same location, 2416 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

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Neighboring small business, .

On a recent Friday afternoon, a group of Stoddert Elementary students rallied outside Max's store with signs.

Rocklands owner John Snedden maintains that he did not know Max's lease was being terminated against his wishes and merely thought owner Max Keshani was retiring.

"We are sorry to see Max’s Best Ice Cream go; we’ve always enjoyed having Max’s Best as a neighbor. We are thrilled, however, to be able to offer our guests more space so they can sit with family and friends to eat their barbeque," Snedden said in a prepared statement.

Community members and loyal Max's customers have taken to the listserv, Patch comment streams, Facebook, Twitter and other places to express their frustration and to object to the ousting of a beloved small business.

According to Washingtonian, those frustrations bubbled over recently into "incidents" at Rocklands.

Washingtonian reports:

"Last week, according to Snedden, he noticed that someone had thrown 'oatmeal or an egg on our back window.' He also says a male customer entered the store and began to argue with the counter employees and that it 'escalated to cursing and harassing.' When a similar incident happened with a woman who entered the store, Snedden reported it to the police. They have a video of the incident. There was also an angry phone call that came into the store. Through caller ID, Rocklands traced it to the neighborhood, says Snedden."

Now Barbara and Gail Bassin's lawyer, Glenn Bonard, tells Washingtonian that the landlords will issue a statement about the lease controversy early this week.

Patch will provide an update on this story as new information becomes available.

Read more:

• Max's Ice Cream Lease Being Terminated
• Rocklands Confirms Expansion into Max's Ice Cream Space
• Stoddert Peacebuilders Show Solidarity With Max's Best