Khans Investment Group Sues Edgewood Bakery For Control After Investing.

[tufsu1]

BTW, has anyone on here actually tasted these muffins? If so, what did you think?

I tasted their food at the 2013 One Spark festival.  I was apprehensive because i absolutely HATE vegetables.  And guess what, they were really good!

[jaxlore]

The whole having their kid write a letter thing, is just horrible and makes me question their professionalism.

[I-10east]

Edgewood Bakery family launches crowdfunding site to buy back bakery

The Rykalskys — the family in dispute with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan for ownership of Edgewood Bakery — have not only taken their cause to court, they're taking it to the public. The family has started a crowdfunding campaign on gofundme.com, according to the Times-Union. The campaign, launched with business partner Mike Zimmerman, hopes to raise enough money to buy the business outright from Khan's Stache Investments. The crowdfunding page, titled "David vs. Goliath," was created on Monday and has raised $295 from five donors. The goal is $300,000.

The rest of the story is in the link below

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2014/12/24/edgewood-akery-family-launches-crowdfunding-site.html

[JaxJersey-licious]

Hey, SERIAL!  We got the story for your next Podcast RIGHT HERE!!!

You're welcome.

[mtraininjax]

Not a crowdfund kinda dude, but I chuckled that for a $5000 donation, you could get a t-shirt, insides on new recipes and the all important, "tour of the facilities". $295 seems about right for them.

Who makes a deal with the devil for an $800,000 business, with no paperwork? They should go work with Sweet Pete and get some schooling from Lemonis.

[I-10east]

Shad Khan's lawyers say emails support claim to ownership of Edgewood Bakery; Key mediation and court dates this week

Emails last spring show that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan had a majority ownership of a popular bakery that has served the Murray Hill area for decades, Khan's attorneys say.

The emails came to light Monday, the same day that Duval County Circuit Judge James Daniel gave the current operators of Edgewood Bakery more time — until Friday — to respond to Khan's lawsuit seeking control of the business he invested in under his investment firm Stache Investments.

The emails show a June 5 exchange between Tom Rykalsky and Jim Zsebok, the representative for Stache.

"I [Stache] will own 56 percent ... of U.S. [Culinary] and your holding company with Mike [Zimmerman] will own 44 percent," Zsebok said while explaining in the email his interpretation of the ownership agreement of Edgewood Bakery.

"That sounds correct," Rykalsky said in a email reply sent from his smart phone.

U.S. Culinary & Beverage is the company of Tom and Carol Rykalsky and their partner Mike Zimmerman, who are currently running Edgewood Bakery. Those emails were filed with court documents Dec. 31.

"They [U.S. Culinary] have filed and verified the complaint that sets out their version of the case. It does not, however, address some emails from Mr. Rykalsky that set forth his agreement to terms of Stache being the individual owner of this entity," Stache attorney Bill Adams told Judge Daniel at Monday's meeting. "Unless Mr. Rykalsky denies these two emails, that may bring this to a rapid conclusion."

On Monday, the judge merged two competing lawsuits: the first was filed in early December by Khan and his investment firm Stache Investments seeking sole ownership of the business. The other was a countersuit by the Rykalskys, also seeking ownership.

Khan contends that since Stache Investments provided $800,000 of seed money to the Rykalskys to buy the bakery in June, the court should appoint his company as the majority owner and grant control of the business to the firm. The suit says the Rykalskys and Zimmerman, under the business entity U.S. Culinary & Beverage, have hurt the business through waste.

Matt Jackson, attorney for the Rykalskys at Monday's hearing, did not address the emails, but said he would file a motion to dismiss the civil court suit.

Meanwhile, as the case progresses in court, both sides are scheduled to take part in private mediation Wednesday in Orlando.

Jackson said both sides agreed to pay for the mediator and if they do reach an agreement over the ownershi*****ue, Jackson said he's hoping for a binding out-of-court settlement.

"Both sides are willing to sit down and talk about it," Jackson said.

If no mediation agreement is reached Wednesday in Orlando, both sides are scheduled to return to Daniel's hearing room from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, when arguments will be made over receivership and ownership. That's when a judge appoints a "receiver," or person to oversee the finances of an operation during litigation.

Daniel said during the hearing Monday that ultimately the case hinges on that disputed ownership of the bakery, no matter what else is happening legally this week, either in or out of court.

"The basis of the receivership and the basis of preliminary injunction are all going to turn on ownership," Daniel said.

Jackson acknowledged that if no mediation is agreed upon Wednesday, Friday's civil court hearing could play a major role toward determining the outcome of the case.

Edgewood Bakery is an institution in Jacksonville that has been operating on Edgewood Avenue for nearly seven decades.

The business remains open. The Rykalskys and about 40 employees continue to manage operations despite multiple notices of termination sent by Stache Investments to the workers there.

The Rykalskys, who were "creators" in the inaugural One Spark crowdfunding festival in Jacksonville in 2013, bought the bakery in June with the financial help from Stache Investments. After meeting with the Rykalskys following their display at One Spark, Stache Investments officials were so impressed with the startup business called Pure Treats that they agreed to provide startup money.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-01-05/story/shad-khans-lawyers-say-emails-support-claim-ownership-edgewood-bakery

[thelakelander]

Although the judge in the case says it's clear Shad Khan's Stache Investments Corp. is the majority owner of the Edgewood Bakery, the couple fighting with Khan plan to proceed to a jury trial. Judge James Daniel said evidence presented by the two sides convinced him that Stache would likely win at trial, but stopped short of issuing a preliminary judgment.

Full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/01/22/judge-rules-in-favor-of-shad-khan-in-edgewood.html

[SbahnInJax]

So much for the narrative about the big mean non-Jacksonvillian billionaire forcing those poor hardworking folks out of business.   

[I-10east]

The Rykalskys' at Edgewood Bakery concedes majority ownership to Khan

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/02/27/edgewood-bakery-operators-concede-khan-is-the.html

[I-10east]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2015/02/27/edgewood-bakery-owners-shad-khan-concedes/24166299/

[RattlerGator]

Honestly, the couple had to know about the eMails given that the husband was a party to them. So, what were they thinking in challenging ownership ? What am I missing? Did they think they had some sort of Court of Equity avenue available to them ?

[Gamblor]

I think they wanted to make a fuss in hopes they would be supported over Khan by the community due to the name on the building. Problem, Edgewood use to be one of the best bakeries in town, now imo it's not even one of the best in the RAP-Murray Hill areas and maybe worst of all, it is not even the best one on Edgewood anymore. Not that I mean its totally their fault, but the competition that has opened has been far more tasty and alluring. Maybe I'm bias since they keep trying to play the pity card, which I can't stand, but at this point I welcome someone new in that space. I have a lot of great memories of that place back in the day, I'd like to have some in the future, but they way things have been going there I doubt I would with the Rykalskys in charge.

[I-10east]

I'd like to have some in the future, but they way things have been going there I doubt I would with the Rykalskys in charge.

The Rykalskys' aren't in charge anymore, Khan is.

[Gamblor]

Yah I could have stated that better, just meant if things kept on the way they had with them running the place

[mtraininjax]

saw on the news that Khan has closed the bakery for the time being, no walk-in customers, no future cake orders, but they will process existing orders. I can't believe that the Husband and Wife would fire Gary and think they knew better. This is a classic case of "inexperienced business owners" and the advice they received or did not receive with regard to winning the hearts and minds by shopping their story on local news, was the absolute worst decision they could have made.

They are now out and without anything.