‘For Lease’ replaces ‘Coming Soon’ sign after sex offender’s woes derail Phoenix restaurant

Interested in opening a restaurant in a historic building south of Roosevelt Row?

The downtown Phoenix space was going to become The Monocle, but the restaurant and bar is now dead in the wake of legal woes involving one of the original owners.

Now, a big "For Lease" sign stands in front of the space, advertised for its historic status and as a "restaurant property." Dixie Lee Cook, owner of the property, declined to comment on the matter when reached on Wednesday. 

The Monocle's original co-owner, Arthur Bachelier, a sex offender, came under scrutiny after it was discovered he had violated his lifetime parole. He was accused of interfering with his GPS electronic monitoring device, and failing to attend and participate in required sex-offender counseling, among other allegation

On June 19, a request to terminate The Monocle LLC was filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The next day, Bachelier appeared at a probation revocation arraignment hearing at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. He faces a non-witness violation hearing on July 25, when a judge will determine if Bachelier will have his probation revoked. 

Bachelier, 32, of Phoenix served just over 2½ years in an Arizona prison beginning in November 2013 after pleading guilty to three charges: sexual abuse, child abuse and sexual conduct with a minor. He was released in June 2015. 

At first, Bachelier was listed on a corporation registration document as the co-owner of the Monocle LLC at 816 N. Third St., Phoenix. But her told The Republic the listing of his name on the corporate registration was a “filing error,” and that he was just the chef.

An amendment filed June 12 to the Corporation Commission requested to remove Bachelier as a member and manager of the Monocle LLC. Gerald Lee Logan III remained listed as co-owner and would replace Bachelier as as corporation manager. Arizona does not allow felons to receive liquor licenses until five years after their date of conviction. 

Since The Republic's story about the Monocle and Bachelier's legal woes published June 16 on azcentral.com, the ownership of the planned restaurant and bar quietly eliminated the Monocle's existence:

• Articles of termination were filed on June 19 for The Monocle LLC, according to the Corporation Commission website. This move terminates the LLC.
• The official website themonoclephx.com has been deleted. 
• The Facebook and Instagram pages connected to the Monocle also are gone.
• The "Coming Soon" sign that hung in front of the restaurant for weeks has been taken down. It has been replaced by a "For Lease" sign in recent days.
• An email sent to themonoclephx@gmail.com, which was registered under Bachelier's name, resulted in a delivery failure notification. Bachelier and Logan have been unreachable.

The brick building, next to Songbird Coffee & Tea House, just south of Roosevelt Street, is a high-profile space as it was previously the popular Roosevelt Tavern and has remained vacant for about five years. 

Bachelier previously was a licensed practical nurse. His license was revoked by the Arizona State Board of Nursing effective June 24, 2014.

Reach the reporter at kellie.hwang@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8690.