YORK, Maine — The Purple Palace building is for sale at York Beach in the wake of a court battle between the breakfast place’s longtime owner and her grandson.
The Purple Palace, also known as Sandy’s Purple Palace, has been listed since January for $895,000, according to Realtor Joe Italiaander of the Boulos Company.
Italiaander said he represented Sandra Wilson, who has owned the York Beach business breakfast place since 1976. Wilson had been in litigation since 2022, when her grandson Jared Rosenfield sued her in York County Superior Court, alleging she wrongfully reneged on selling the business and building to him and his wife.
The case was scheduled for trial, but a stay was granted in November, temporarily halting proceedings. Rosenfield said he and Wilson reached a settlement in December in which he would get some of his money back from the sale of the Purple Palace, which he hoped to run and one day hand down to his own son.
"I didn't just sue my grandma," Rosenfield said. "I got a lawyer to stand up for myself."
Italiaander said he could not comment on the litigation, and Wilson did not return a call seeking comment. Wilson ran the business for 48 years, touting its special of sausage, two eggs, home fries and toast for $3.95. Recently, a large “for sale” sign was seen on the front of the building, generating chatter on Facebook.
“It’s a really great opportunity for someone, especially now, to come in and with relatively minimal input to be open for the season down there,” Italiaander said.
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Purple Palace an institution at Short Sands Beach
The Purple Palace’s big purple building has become iconic at Short Sands Beach. Wilson inherited the restaurant from her father, Harry Riback, and in 1987 gave it a new name to rebrand.
The longstanding breakfast place remained closed in the summer of 2023 after Rosenfield filed his lawsuit in November 2022 against Wilson, alleging she agreed to sell the building and business to him. Wilson’s attorney wrote in a response to the suit that she never agreed to sell the building, but only the business.
The business relationship between Rosenfield and Wilson began optimistically. Rosenfield grew up visiting his grandmother and enjoying the Purple Palace. In April 2022, Rosenfield told the York Weekly he and his wife were excited to take over the restaurant from Wilson, having shadowed her the summer before.
The lawsuit and Wilson’s response indicate the relationship soured after an agreement was reached on May 16, 2022.
Rosenfield claims they reached a written agreement in which he would pay Wilson $450,000 over 15 years in $30,000 installments. Wilson's attorney wrote in court documents that she agreed to sell the business to Rosenfield for $40,000 paid in $10,000 installments while she remained landlord.
Rosenfield stated in court documents that Wilson began preparing to sell the building in 2022. Rosenfield’s suit recounted him being surprised by a real estate agent coming to take pictures in July that year. His attorney Brett Leland described it as the beginning of a series of “malicious” attempts to “pull the rug” out from the Rosenfields.
Wilson alleged Rosenfield failed to make payments, which her attorney wrote in her response that this caused their relationship to “deteriorate.” Rosenfield denied missing payments.
Last summer, when the case was scheduled to go to trial, Rosenfield and his attorney, Brett Leland, declined to comment on the suit. Wilson said she could not comment on the litigation but predicted at the time the building would be sold.
“I tried very hard, you know, to have family work there,” Wilson said. “It just didn’t work out.”
Purple Palace on sale for the first time in more than four decades
Rosenfield said the court battle with his grandmother was devastating for his family. He said claims about his failing to pay and breaking the terms of the contract were untrue and disproven in mediation.
Now, he said he is working in Portland and is focused on raising his family in York, a community he loves. He said the Purple Palace was an exciting project at the beginning that could have been successful.
"We wanted to keep it going. I wanted my son to run it," Rosenfield said. "We were really proud."
The Boulos Company states on its listing that the Purple Palace is on the market for the first time in 41 years. The listing touts the building as a “prime location within walking distance of Short Sands Beach.” It also mentions the property’s visibility with heavy foot and vehicle traffic.
“It’s a fully built-out restaurant space on the 50-yard line of York Beach,” Italiaander said.
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