Season 2 of The Bear (no spoilers ahead) becomes the story of a startup and all the adapting and improvising on the dead run that are parts of any startup in any industry. Like Season 1, however, it's still a nerve-wracking, cringe-inducing watch (yes, and funny too).
Speaking of nerve-wracking and cringe-inducing, a lawsuit was just filed in Boston that promises to be that and a lot more.
In The Bear, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto is a James Beard Award-winning chef who goes home to Chicago to take over his family's iconic but down at the heels restaurant.
The investment
The primary investor, Robert Weintraub invested $100,000 in Chef Tiffini Faison's holding company, Sweet Cheeks, in 2011 for just over a 5% interest in the business - which at the time was running four successful restaurants. In 2017, he invested another $100,000 in a new restaurant, Orfano, she was opening..
The Loan
Somewhere around 2017, Sweet Cheeks took out a loan to buyout a former partner for $1.5 million.
Faison used income and operating capital to pay off the loan but, the lawsuit claims, then assumed the former partner's ownership stake herself instead of reapportioning it to minority investors as well.
Allegations of Misuse of Funds & Non-Reporting
The allegations get worse: Weintraub also alleges that Faison misused federal COVID relief funds — from both the Paycheck Protection Program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund — at Sweet Cheeks and Orfano. In total, Sweet Cheeks received $1,383,400 in PPP loans, and $2,230,173 in RRF grants and Orfano received $945,685 in PPP dollars and $1,975,521 in RRF funds.
Orfano closed during the pandemic.
Weintraub’s lawsuit claims Faison never told investors how she used the $6.5 million while accusing her of using the funds to over-pay “possibly herself, her wife, and other parties with whom she shared a familial or personal relationship.” Such a misuse of funds, of course, would have "cut into profits that would have otherwise been distributed to investors — or, in the case of Orfano, money that could have been used to prevent its closing.",
Finally, the lawsuit claims that Faison has failed to provide Weintraub and other investors with accounting information about the restaurants, including details about loan and compensation amounts.
What's at Stake
Weintraub seeks a proportional share of interest in Sweet Cheeks, damages, and the court to order a full accounting of Sweet Cheeks and Orfano.
Right now there doesn't appear to be any chance this is settled outside of a courtroom . . . unless, of course, there's cash in the tomato sauce.
We'll be following the case as it hits on so many of the issues we see every day.
