Santa Monica, CA -- The owner of a restaurant in Santa Monica, California, is begging Tom Hanks to save her business.

Kelly Bixby, lawyer for the Boathouse restaurant owner Naia Sheffield, says the Bubba Gump restaurant chain is trying to force his client out of the location she has held for decades.

Bixby claims the chain is in league with the city, which has told Sheffield she has to leave -- in the name of pier restoration.

Sheffield has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the city and is now appealing to "Forrest Gump" star Hanks to help her win the right to her restaurant.

Lawyer Bixby has mailed and faxed Hanks letters because he thinks the actor would disapprove of a big chain restaurant using his image to force a Mom 'n' Pop business to close.

Things are still in dire straits -- so far, the city has locked the Boathouse's doors and Hanks has yet to speak up.

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