The managers of Evergreen’s well-known Little Bear Saloon say a fellow co-owner “has spread false rumors about them and their financial solvency,” prompting local bands to switch venues and play elsewhere, as part of a scheme to “ruin” the tourist attraction.
Known for its rustic Western appearance, the building at 28075 Highway 74 dates to the 1880s and has been Little Bear since the 1970s. It was last sold in November 2023.
The buyers were JR Iannaccone, Patrick Robson and Alexandra Robson. Iannaccone owns Bistro Del Lago, an Italian restaurant down the street from Little Bear, and Evergreen-based JR’s Landscaping & Property Maintenance. The Robsons are a local married couple.
Less than two years after acquiring the saloon, the co-owners are feuding. In June, Iannaccone sued the Robsons, accusing them of using the bar’s “checking account and credit card as their own personal checking account” while not timely paying rent, payroll or vendors.
The Robsons have denied that and, on Sept. 8, countersued Iannaccone for defamation and abuse of the legal process. They say his bad-mouthing has caused “harm to their reputations in the community, embarrassment for their family and lost consulting work.”
“The Robsons believe that Iannaccone has spread these false rumors to undermine their stake in Little Bear Saloon Holdings LLC and ruin its business,” they say of their jointly owned LLC, “for the ulterior motive of forcing them to buy Iannaccone out at an inflated price.”
Iannaccone’s lawyers, John Coaty and Dylan Woods of Coaty & Woods, declined to discuss.
The Robsons’ countersuit claims that Iannaccone has spread these rumors about them and their finances to local performers, convincing those acts “to switch venues and perform elsewhere.” They list three: the Freddy Jones Band, Something Underground and the Boogie at the Barn event. But Rich Ross, bassist for the Freddy Jones Band, disputes that.
“We have always played there and been paid in full by Patrick,” he says of Robson. “We have never had an issue with getting paid or had to cancel or back out of any performances.”
Something Underground and Boogie at the Barn did not answer requests for comment.
The Robsons also accuse Iannaccone of “self-dealing and overbilling of Little Bear Saloon Holdings LLC,” including charging too much for landscaping that his company provided and taking a salary “despite performing minimal work.” The Robsons do not receive a salary.
Their lawyer is Jesse Howard Witt with Frascona Joiner Goodman and Greenstein in Boulder.
“We look forward to a swift resolution of the litigation,” the couple said in a statement, “so that we can continue upholding the integrity and tradition of excellence at the Little Bear.”
The managers of Evergreen’s well-known Little Bear Saloon say a fellow co-owner “has spread false rumors about them and their financial solvency,” prompting local bands to switch venues and play elsewhere, as part of a scheme to “ruin” the tourist attraction.
Known for its rustic Western appearance, the building at 28075 Highway 74 dates to the 1880s and has been Little Bear since the 1970s. It was last sold in November 2023.
The buyers were JR Iannaccone, Patrick Robson and Alexandra Robson. Iannaccone owns Bistro Del Lago, an Italian restaurant down the street from Little Bear, and Evergreen-based JR’s Landscaping & Property Maintenance. The Robsons are a local married couple.
Less than two years after acquiring the saloon, the co-owners are feuding. In June, Iannaccone sued the Robsons, accusing them of using the bar’s “checking account and credit card as their own personal checking account” while not timely paying rent, payroll or vendors.
The Robsons have denied that and, on Sept. 8, countersued Iannaccone for defamation and abuse of the legal process. They say his bad-mouthing has caused “harm to their reputations in the community, embarrassment for their family and lost consulting work.”
“The Robsons believe that Iannaccone has spread these false rumors to undermine their stake in Little Bear Saloon Holdings LLC and ruin its business,” they say of their jointly owned LLC, “for the ulterior motive of forcing them to buy Iannaccone out at an inflated price.”
Iannaccone’s lawyers, John Coaty and Dylan Woods of Coaty & Woods, declined to discuss.
The Robsons’ countersuit claims that Iannaccone has spread these rumors about them and their finances to local performers, convincing those acts “to switch venues and perform elsewhere.” They list three: the Freddy Jones Band, Something Underground and the Boogie at the Barn event. But Rich Ross, bassist for the Freddy Jones Band, disputes that.
“We have always played there and been paid in full by Patrick,” he says of Robson. “We have never had an issue with getting paid or had to cancel or back out of any performances.”
Something Underground and Boogie at the Barn did not answer requests for comment.
The Robsons also accuse Iannaccone of “self-dealing and overbilling of Little Bear Saloon Holdings LLC,” including charging too much for landscaping that his company provided and taking a salary “despite performing minimal work.” The Robsons do not receive a salary.
Their lawyer is Jesse Howard Witt with Frascona Joiner Goodman and Greenstein in Boulder.
“We look forward to a swift resolution of the litigation,” the couple said in a statement, “so that we can continue upholding the integrity and tradition of excellence at the Little Bear.”
