ORILLIA, Ont. — A soon-to-be-open restaurant on Atherley Road has had two unexpected guests for nearly a month, and a lack of action by law enforcement has left the property owner baffled and frustrated.
The parking lot of the former Just Eddie’s restaurant, located across the street from Kawartha Dairy and adjacent to the Petro-Canada gas station, has become home to two people who have been squatting on the property in a broken-down RV, blocking access to the restaurant, says owner Kosta Liotos.
“One day, about a month ago, I noticed this thing blocking the driveway there when I came into the restaurant,” Liotos told OrilliaMatters. “I said, ‘Whatever. The hood’s open. It’s likely broke down.’ Three days pass (and) it’s still sitting there — nothing happening.”
At that point, Liotos knocked on the RV door and was told by the occupants the steering was broken on the vehicle and that they would have a tow truck coming the next day.
However, after a few more days, the RV had not been moved.
“I go bang on the door again. I said, ‘What’s happening here, man?” Liotos explained. “(He responded), ‘I’m waiting for the tow truck; it’s supposed to be here tonight.’ So, now it’s over a week and he’s telling me the same story again.”
The RV still blocks Liotos’s property today.
He said he was initially sympathetic to their situation, but his sympathy has worn thin over the past several weeks.
“I understand that people have situations, but this is way out of hand. It’s been almost a month now,” he said.
Over the past few weeks, Liotos has told the people in the RV to leave. He has also reached out to police, Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s office, and the Orillia Fire Department, saying the RV’s location may make it difficult to access a nearby fire hydrant.
However, no one has been able to help so far, with the OPP telling Liotos police can remove the occupants from the property for trespassing, but that he will have to pay for the vehicle to be removed.
“In between all this, Petro-Canada has called the police. They keep coming and saying, ‘Well, we can’t do much about it. It’s on private property,’” he said. “The officer tells me, two days ago, (he) can come remove them out of (the RV) … if (I) can have a tow truck and heavy wrecker come there … and (I) can pay to have the wrecker tow it.”
At this point, Liotos said he’s “almost ready to pay out of pocket,” but he’s frustrated there are no alternatives to have the squatters removed from his property.
“Nobody can remove them off my property unless I pay for it. It doesn’t even make any sense. Why pay property taxes?” he said. “They want the property taxes every year. You call the police and ask them to remove these people on your property and they can’t.”
Additionally, Liotos said, he has contacted two towing companies in town in recent days, with one saying they were too busy to tow the RV at the time, and the other stating they have already dealt with the RV and were reluctant to do so again.
Liotos said the RV dwellers were previously parked near a construction site, and the towing company removed the vehicle from the area, which led to an “uncomfortable situation” as the couple have “nowhere to live.”
In the days since the RV showed up, Liotos said accessing his property has been difficult. Although there is an alternative entrance, it’s in fairly rough condition.
“My 83-year-old father was driving out the bad driveway with a Ford Escort and getting stuck. Twice, I had to go push him out, and smashed my van trying to get him out of my own driveway,” he said.
“All this has impacted my ability for my father and I to get into the restaurant and everybody to get into the restaurant.”
OrilliaMatters spoke with one of the two people in the RV this week, who identified himself only as Jason. He said he hopes to get his vehicle off the property soon and added he has lived in the RV with his wife for more than a year.
Jason said he was quoted more than $1,000 to get the RV towed, and that he has had difficulty finding permanent housing due to a lack of good references, as well as credit issues.
“We’re trying to save up for a house. It’s been a nightmare, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’d love to trade this in for a different roof over my head.”
Orillia OPP did not respond to requests for comment before publication of this article.
Greg McGrath-Goudie is a reporter for Village Media's OrilliaMatters.
