Hipster BKLYN Pizza Joint in Fight over Ownership Dough

March 10th, 2015. By LucyC

Is a lawsuit good for business? In this case, very possibly—ah—make that a yes. It would seem that the Michelin starred pizzeria in Brooklyn— Roberta’s—has never enjoyed such popularity/notoriety as now. It’s currently the subject of an ownership lawsuit. And yes, it’s all about the dough.

Celebs to have graced the eatery include the Clintons with Gloria Steinem and “The Big Lebowski” director Joel Coen, and Beyoncé—who apparently stomped out while fighting with hubby Jay Z (I wonder if there’s something in the food?)

So, the backstory, three owners—Brandon Hoy, Carlo Mirarchi and Chris Parachini—can’t agree on how to expand. What’s that old saying—two’s company three’s a crowd? So Hoy and Mirarchi fired co-founder Parachini—as you do. The firing led to buyout negotiations but the talks broke down when Parachini snubbed an offer of $2 million for his 25 percent share in the company. Parachini countered at $2.9, to include his share of Roberta’s and its spinoffs including another restaurant in the Rockaways and another $2.5 million for intellectual property (?). Wow. That’s a big piece of the pie!

His argument, according  to a letter he wrote in September 2014 to his now estranged business partners, is “Roberta’s has grown into a name representing quality and success that is synonymous with Brooklyn and recognized across the world.” Um. I know the world’s a small place, but… He was, apparently, referring to a pending deal in Asia and possibly the Ace Hotel chain.

So, the deal stalls, and four months after being a no show in the eatery, Parachini puts in an appearance only to have his partners call the cops, according to court documents.

“Our worst fears became a reality on Dec. 22, 2014, when Parachini appeared at the restaurant and began telling staff he was the ‘boss’ and ‘owner’ and they had to listen to him,” Hoy says in an affidavit.

“We are concerned that this will end in a physical altercation before the police will take any action, based on the prior history with Mr. Parachini and his erratic behavior,” Hoy says.

Wisely, the police didn’t get involved. So, Hoy and Mirarchi filed a lawsuit to keep Parachini away from the restaurant.

A judge granted the emergency order on December 31, but also said that Parachini should be paid a salary and given access to their books during the lawsuit. Sounds reasonable to me.

Parachini lobbed back in a written response to the allegations of physical violence and erratic behavior that, “I have no history of violence nor have I ever threatened any of my partners or employees. This is a total fabrication…presented to inflame the court.” He goes on to call the allegations  “malicious, unconscionable” and “an attempted theft of my ownership.” You know, I would say he does appear to be on the losing end of this one. But it ain’t over until the fat lady sings…

Parachini claims that things began to go sideways when he went to LA last summer to talk to the Ace Hotel chain about opening a restaurant in a new hotel that’s slated to open on the Lower East Side.

Court papers state that this is when Hoy went behind Parachini’s back to make changes to a new takeout counter next to Roberta’s.

The three amigos—who incidentally are in their mid 30s and early 40s—started the restaurant with something like $43,000. Now they’re headed to court to duke it out over millions. According to court papers filed by Parachini, his partners will net $10 million to $15 million over the next 10 years with the New York business alone.

And the irony in all this is that, according to Hoy and Mirarchi’s attorney, Kevin Sean O’Donoghue, Roberta’s has been “more successful than ever” since Parachini was fired. “His involvement is not a material need for the company,” he told The New York Post.

This was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 at 10:38 am and is filed under Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.