Former owners of East Liberty hot dog shop suing chef Kevin Sousa

The former owners of the Station Street Hot Dog Shop in East Liberty are suing chef Kevin Sousa, who took over the shop in 2012 before closing it in November to focus on his latest culinary venture in Braddock.

Robert and Ruth Tortorete of Stanton Heights and Original Station Street Hot Dog Shop Inc. filed a pair of lawsuits Thursday in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against Sousa and his wife, seeking $60,425.98.

They could not be reached, and their attorney declined to comment.

Sousa said that when he bought the business from the Tortoretes in 2012, they retained ownership of the building and gave Sousa a loan for the restaurant equipment. After closing Station Street, Sousa and the Tortoretes first tried to sell the shop and equipment. When it didn't sell, the Tortoretes sought to rent the space instead, Sousa said.

He said he'd offered via email to work with the Tortoretes to repay the note but hadn't heard back from them before he learned of the lawsuit.

Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at msantoni@tribweb.com or 412-380-5625.