Restaurant Group Partner Sues for $8 Million Amid Dispute
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Shareholder Assaf Aral is suing his partners in the La'Chook restaurant group for 8 million shekels, seeking a court-appointed valuation and a forced buyout of his shares. Aral claims Shlomi Afriat and Ido Nachmani deliberately pushed him out of the business after he took paternity leave. His partners deny the allegations, accusing Aral of abandoning the business and stealing trade secrets.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Assaf Aral is suing restaurant group partners Shlomi Afriat and Ido Nachmani for 8 million shekels.
- Aral alleges his partners deliberately pushed him out of the La'Chook restaurant group.
- The lawsuit seeks a court-appointed valuation and a forced buyout of Aral's shares.
- Aral claims he was sidelined after taking paternity leave and received reduced dividends.
- The partners' attorneys accuse Aral of abandoning the business and stealing trade secrets.
Assaf Aral, a shareholder in the Tel Aviv-based restaurant group La'Chook, has filed a lawsuit seeking 8 million shekels against his partners, controlling shareholders Shlomi Afriat and Ido Nachmani. Aral is asking the court to appoint an expert to appraise the companies' value and to compel his partners to buy out his shares. The group operates four restaurants: La'Chook on Dizengoff Square, A-La Bar, Cafe Coco, and Cafe 38.
Aral alleges that his partners deliberately pushed him out of the businesses. The lawsuit was filed after negotiations for his minority shares and a mediation process failed. According to the claim, Afriat and Nachmani conspired to sideline Aral, engaging in actions that allegedly harmed him and caused group employees to disrespect him. Specific accusations include damage to his salary and unilateral decisions that benefited the other partners.
Aral stated that he took a paternity leave several months prior and upon his return found himself "pushed out of the work of my life and losing faith in my partners, and decided not to return to the business." The lawsuit details dividends he received, totaling 1.2 million shekels between 2022 and 2024. He claims that in 2025, after the dispute began, he received no dividends except for a partial payment of 39,000 shekels.
He expressed concern that his partners might enrich themselves by increasing management fees, raising rent for two restaurants whose properties are owned by Afriat, and distributing cash. Attorneys for Nachmani and Afriat, Raz Ben Dor from Metri Meiri Kacht & Co., responded by stating that Aral "effectively abandoned his activities in the companies, disappeared from the businesses, and even took advantage of a business opportunity that came his way within the framework of his activity in one of the group's restaurants to initiate or join the establishment of a new business in the restaurant field." They also accused him of taking company information and trade secrets, and making "exorbitant financial demands."