A company run by PR guru Ron Berkowitz is suing three restaurants whose chefs include kitchen stars Masaharu Morimoto and Robbie Felice for nearly $250,000 in unpaid fees, Page Six reports.
Neither Felice nor Morimoto are defendants in this lawsuit.
Last July, Montclair Hospitality Group hired Berkowitz’s Berk Communications to handle promotional and public relations work.
Shortly after, MHG, which already had two Asian-inspired eateries in Montclair, N.J., Ani Ramen and Pasta Ramen, opened Nobu alum Morimoto’s MM Restaurant in the bustling Garden State bedroom community.
According to court documents filed in New York County Supreme Court, the group agreed to pay Berkowitz’s store (represented by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Fanatics owner Michael Rubin, Yankees great Alex Rodriguez and others) $20,000 a month for six months plus expenses, plus $5,000 a month for “food, catering and other hospitality services.”
The contract stated that unless someone canceled, the contract would continue for another six months.
The group stopped making payments in January and stopped responding to emails about missing cash by March, the paper said.
Lawyers for Mr. Berkowitz’s company now claim that the food group owes Mr. Berkowitz unpaid fees of $20,000 for each month remaining on his contract, $60,000 to the food and beverage fund, plus interest and legal fees, for a total of $180,166.
Ani Ramen has been open since 2014 in the Essex County town, home to New York athletes and frequented by celebrities from “Real Housewives” to Justin Bieber, and Pasta Ramen has been open since 2021.
