PETERSBURG, Va. — The attorney representing Dylan and Savannah Yeargin issued a statement to CBS 6 in response to a lawsuit filed against the couple over ownership of the Dixie Restaurant.
Richmond BizSense reported last month that former Dixie owners Charles and Frances Rawlings sued the Yeargins claiming the couple was not living up to its end of the restaurant's sale and was effectively stealing the business.
The Yeargins' lawsuit claimed the Rawlings did not intended to honor the terms of the restaurant's sale over a "mutual mistake" that resulted in the sale contract listing the the business as "Dixie Restaurant, Inc." instead of "Dixie Restaurant, LLC."
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for later this month.
Local News
Former Dixie Restaurant owners sue couple they sold the business to last year
This week, Dylan and Savannah Yeargin's attorney provided CBS 6 with the following statement from the couple regarding the situation:
We (Dylan and Savannah, the current operators of “The Dixie”) have been asked why we have not responded to the allegations that have been circling around the media and social media for the past few weeks. Now, we feel it is time for some explanations.
First and foremost, we are parents who love their children and have been concerned about their safety and well-being due to the comments that have been put on various media pages and on social media platforms. While we are hoping to be given the opportunity in court to have a Judge decide the case, we have decided we must respond to the community in hopes that people will at least see there are many sides to every story, to stop the threats that we have received, and to be given a fair opportunity.
As stated in our initial response to the news article, we will fight to defend ourselves.
This case is not about a “typo” or us trying to “steal” a business.
We have searched the US Trademark database, and the Rawlings do not appear to own the name the Dixie.
The Dixie restaurant has been around for decades, long before the Rawlings rented the space, and the name Dixie has been used for generations.
In their lawsuit, we are accused of only paying $13,000.00 of $15,000.00 left in the register as working capital, but this false.
We have canceled checks showing we paid $15,000.00, with the last payment on December 19, 2024.
Mr. Rawlings deposited that check a few days later.
We understand this year in January, Mr. Rawlings unfortunately suffered a serious health issue, yet they filed this lengthy lawsuit at the end of March.
They had the opportunity to make sure the information was correct, but they did not do so.
All of this has been paid in full.
This lawsuit is more of an attempt to try to litigate this case in the media rather than doing so in Court.
They filed a sensationalized lawsuit with what appears to be a goal of destroying the Dixie Restaurant. By doing so, they are not just attacking us, but the employees working there, putting their jobs at risk, many of whom worked there when the Rawlings operated the restaurant.
This is all an attempt to pressure us to cave, yet not thinking about the restaurant that has been there for decades.
This also has a long term effect on the landlord should the restaurant be forced to close. We are not squatters. We are paying rent. A third party owns this building which in turn causes financial concern for her as well.
Many lives have been affected due to the sensationalism before a Judge can even hear the case.
We hope that everyone can see there are multiple sides to every story, and this story has not yet ended.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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