City terminates Rudy’s Steakhouse lease over unpaid rent

The city of Salem terminated its leases with Rudy’s Steakhouse Tuesday due to unpaid rent, leaving the fate of a popular downtown business up in the air.

City officials confirmed the termination to Salem Reporter Tuesday afternoon. A notice taped to one of the restaurant’s entrance doors states one lease termination is due the business’ “failure to meet the terms of the Lease.” 

Rudy’s Steakhouse did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the lease terminations and unpaid rent.

The restaurant first entered leases with the city for the spaces in 2017 and 2019, according to the city notice. The three spaces are all located within the restaurant’s location at 350 Chemeketa St. N.E.

All three leases have been in default for unpaid rent for over five months, a city spokesperson said in an email to Salem Reporter.

“All three leases have been subject to a repayment agreement since November 2024. This agreement has been breached and the agreement is now terminated,” the email said.

The city did not respond to questions about when the first notice was sent or how much rent was not paid.

Due to the lease terminations being a confidential legal matter, a city spokesperson said, no more information is available.

Former owner John Rudishauser founded Rudy’s in 1998 as a restaurant at the Salem Golf Club, according to legal filings from the company. 

Owner Robert Kunke took the business over and moved the restaurant and butcher shop to its downtown Salem location after its lease at Salem Golf Club was terminated in 2017.

Court records indicate Salem Golf Club sued Kunke and Rudy’s in Marion County Circuit Court in 2017, alleging the restaurant owed the club more than $9,000 in back rent. 

In a counterclaim, Kunke’s attorneys claimed Rudy’s had undertaken overdue repairs to the golf club property and had been unable to recover those costs from the golf club. A judge dismissed the suit with prejudice in 2020.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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