Sushi Ronin operates at 2930 Umatilla St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
A federal judge has rejected a bankrupt LoHi sushi restaurant’s plan for restructuring after finding it would force out two minority co-owners and unfairly benefit a third.
Sushi Ronin, at 2930 Umatilla St., went bankrupt late last year as its majority owner, Alex Gurevich, feuded in court with minority owners Rebecca and Jeremy Crawford. The bankruptcy canceled a summer 2024 trial in which the Crawfords would have accused Gurevich of fraud and self-dealing and Gurevich would have accused the Crawfords of fraud.
Their years-long court dispute bankrupted Sushi Ronin and has continued to strain it.
“The business is ongoing but it’s not making a lot of money,” Gurevich said last week. “But so many restaurants right now are closing and we’re still afloat. Everyone has been very supportive of the situation, knowing that we bled so much money dealing with this legal battle.”
“Where we are now, it’s pretty tight. But everybody is getting paid, it’s not falling behind more. So, for what we envision, we’re just going to keep going,” the restaurateur said.
Among other alleged behavior, the Crawfords take issue with management fees that Sushi Ronin paid VK LLC, a company Gurevich owns. Gurevich calls the 6-percent cut of monthly revenue his “salary” for running the restaurant. The Crawfords call it excessive.
And now, as Sushi Ronin attempts to restructure its debt, reform its business operations and emerge from bankruptcy a success, those fees are again under scrutiny.
Gurevich would like to invest $50,000 in Sushi Ronin and, in exchange, have the company’s $429,000 in unsecured debt excused and have all of the company’s shares transferred to him. The Crawfords would split that $50,000 with Sushi Ronin’s landlord, which is also owed money from the restaurant, and receive only 8 percent of what they are allegedly owed.
“The $50,000 paid into the plan by Mr. Gurevich would be easily recouped during the life of the plan through the 6-percent management fee paid to VK,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero in Denver determined last month. “VK would be paid $30,600 in management fees between July and December 2024 and $64,872 in management fees during 2025.”
“The court believes this is hardly fair and equitable to creditors in this case,” he wrote.
For that reason, Romero rejected the plan and declined to dismiss Sushi Ronin’s debt. Bankruptcy attorneys for the restaurant are appealing his decision to a higher court.
“He felt that the management company would be benefiting,” Gurevich said of Romero, “even though if we had to go and actually hire a manager, it would cost us more than having a management company handling so much of the administration, payroll, et cetera.”
“The choice was to either amend or to appeal and the attorneys felt that he completely screwed up and that it absolutely warranted an appeal,” Gurevich said. “In the meantime, we are where we were before, submitting our monthly operating reports and operating.”
Sushi Ronin’s latest report shows that it earned $81,000 in July, spent $88,000 and had $1,100 in its bank account. The month before, it received $101,000 and spent $97,000.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, Gurevich and the LLC for Sushi Ronin’s former Lowry location are being sued for $1 million by a landlord that accuses them of abandoning 7111 E. Lowry Blvd. Gurevich denies breaking a lease and is countersuing, accusing the landlord of misrepresenting the area’s clientele and not letting him sublease to another sushi restaurant.
Sushi Ronin operates at 2930 Umatilla St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
A federal judge has rejected a bankrupt LoHi sushi restaurant’s plan for restructuring after finding it would force out two minority co-owners and unfairly benefit a third.
Sushi Ronin, at 2930 Umatilla St., went bankrupt late last year as its majority owner, Alex Gurevich, feuded in court with minority owners Rebecca and Jeremy Crawford. The bankruptcy canceled a summer 2024 trial in which the Crawfords would have accused Gurevich of fraud and self-dealing and Gurevich would have accused the Crawfords of fraud.
Their years-long court dispute bankrupted Sushi Ronin and has continued to strain it.
“The business is ongoing but it’s not making a lot of money,” Gurevich said last week. “But so many restaurants right now are closing and we’re still afloat. Everyone has been very supportive of the situation, knowing that we bled so much money dealing with this legal battle.”
“Where we are now, it’s pretty tight. But everybody is getting paid, it’s not falling behind more. So, for what we envision, we’re just going to keep going,” the restaurateur said.
Among other alleged behavior, the Crawfords take issue with management fees that Sushi Ronin paid VK LLC, a company Gurevich owns. Gurevich calls the 6-percent cut of monthly revenue his “salary” for running the restaurant. The Crawfords call it excessive.
And now, as Sushi Ronin attempts to restructure its debt, reform its business operations and emerge from bankruptcy a success, those fees are again under scrutiny.
Gurevich would like to invest $50,000 in Sushi Ronin and, in exchange, have the company’s $429,000 in unsecured debt excused and have all of the company’s shares transferred to him. The Crawfords would split that $50,000 with Sushi Ronin’s landlord, which is also owed money from the restaurant, and receive only 8 percent of what they are allegedly owed.
“The $50,000 paid into the plan by Mr. Gurevich would be easily recouped during the life of the plan through the 6-percent management fee paid to VK,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero in Denver determined last month. “VK would be paid $30,600 in management fees between July and December 2024 and $64,872 in management fees during 2025.”
“The court believes this is hardly fair and equitable to creditors in this case,” he wrote.
For that reason, Romero rejected the plan and declined to dismiss Sushi Ronin’s debt. Bankruptcy attorneys for the restaurant are appealing his decision to a higher court.
“He felt that the management company would be benefiting,” Gurevich said of Romero, “even though if we had to go and actually hire a manager, it would cost us more than having a management company handling so much of the administration, payroll, et cetera.”
“The choice was to either amend or to appeal and the attorneys felt that he completely screwed up and that it absolutely warranted an appeal,” Gurevich said. “In the meantime, we are where we were before, submitting our monthly operating reports and operating.”
Sushi Ronin’s latest report shows that it earned $81,000 in July, spent $88,000 and had $1,100 in its bank account. The month before, it received $101,000 and spent $97,000.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, Gurevich and the LLC for Sushi Ronin’s former Lowry location are being sued for $1 million by a landlord that accuses them of abandoning 7111 E. Lowry Blvd. Gurevich denies breaking a lease and is countersuing, accusing the landlord of misrepresenting the area’s clientele and not letting him sublease to another sushi restaurant.
