Tel Aviv Restaurant Group Founders Face 8 Million NIS Court Battle
A shareholder dispute over Tel Aviv's Le Shuk and Cafe Coco restaurant group has reached the District Court as minority owner Assaf Erel files an 8 million NIS lawsuit against controlling partners, citing operational marginalization.
A bitter legal dispute has engulfed some of Tel Aviv's most prominent culinary and nightlife venues, as a shareholder battle inside the restaurant group behind brands such as Le Shuk, A La Bar, Cafe Coco, and Cafe 38 reached the Tel Aviv District Court.
Assaf Erel, a minority shareholder in the group, has filed an 8 million NIS lawsuit against controlling partners Shlomi Afriat and Ido Nahmani. Erel is demanding that the court appoint an independent expert to conduct an updated company valuation and order his partners to buy out his stake. The legal escalation follows the collapse of quiet negotiations and protracted mediation efforts.
According to the plaintiff, the controlling partners orchestrated a systematic campaign to marginalize him and strip him of his influence in the businesses he helped establish. The lawsuit claims that Afriat and Nahmani made unilateral managerial decisions for personal gain, undermined his standing among employees, and eroded his salary. Erel stated that the breaking point occurred while he was on paternity leave, during which he discovered he was being pushed out of what he described as his life's work, prompting him not to return to active daily management.
The lawsuit also sheds light on the group's behind-the-scenes financials and profit distribution. Erel details that between 2022 and 2024, he drew approximately 1.2 million NIS in dividends, but payments nearly ceased entirely with the outbreak of the dispute in 2025, aside from a partial payout of 39,000 NIS. He further alleges that controlling shareholders may route company funds into their own pockets through mechanisms such as raising rent on properties owned by Afriat, inflating management fees, and cash withdrawals.
In contrast, the controlling partners vehemently reject the allegations. Attorney Raz Ben-Dor of Meitar, Mayer, Bortch & Cohen represented Nahmani and Afriat, issuing a sharp response to Erel's legal counsel, Ori Primo and Daniel Greenberg of EBN & Co.
The response argues that Erel abandoned his commitments to the companies, disappeared from operations, and avoided managerial duties. Furthermore, the defendants accuse Erel of exploiting the group's business opportunities to promote a competing restaurant venture, misappropriating trade secrets, and making unrealistic financial demands. The future of the Dizengoff restaurant empire will now be decided in court.
