August 18th 2023.
The highly-anticipated opening of Emmitt's, a Las Vegas restaurant named after NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, has been delayed for two years. Now, Clark County District Court is embroiled in a lawsuit, which alleges some former business partners of the famous chef Rainer Schwarz, through his business Chef Rainer L.L.C., conspired to benefit themselves at the expense of others.
The complaint names four entities, with Smith's limited liability company among them, but Smith himself is not named. Trilogy F&B Group L.L.C. entered into an operating agreement with Chef Rainer L.L.C. in October 2021, which was responsible for leasing the space in the Fashion Show and building the restaurant.
Unfortunately, the agreement seemed to quickly sour. According to the complaint, a minority owner of Trilogy, Valley Water Mill L.L.C., changed the locks to the restaurant, denying access to the chef and other staff. The president and CEO of Gillett Construction L.L.C., another defendant named, is accused of overseeing the lock change and competing with Chef Rainer L.L.C. for the job.
The complaint claims that these actions, in addition to the lack of access to the restaurant, resulted in Trilogy's valuation dropping from $25 million to zero. Chef Rainer L.L.C. was left with more than $2.2 million in costs associated with the restaurant's opening, and only half of this has been reimbursed. The chef's business was also expecting an annual base salary of $450,000, as well as a percentage of ticket and food and beverage sales, amounting to $67 million over the life of the contract.
Schwarz and his company are now seeking a temporary restraining order, to protect against any further irreparable harms. It remains to be seen how the court will decide, but all parties involved are hoping for a swift resolution.
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