"When Keith McNally suffered a major stroke in 2016, the famed restaurateur behind Pastis, Balthazar and Minetta Tavern feared his career and his body had collapsed for good. To make matters worse, the man who once ruled New York's dining scene suddenly found himself trapped in a business deal he could no longer execute. He'd leased a Meatpacking District space to reopen his iconic restaurant Pastis, backed by a $1 million personal guarantee."
"Epstein tells a very different story. In his version, there was no threat to execute the guarantee, no heartless landlord tightening the screws on an ailing tenant. We were never going to go after his personal guarantee, Epstein said in a phone interview. Forget it being not a good thing to do as a business person. I believe it's a terrible thing to do as a human being to prey on someone after they had a terrible medical problem in their life."
Keith McNally suffered a major stroke in 2016 and feared his career and his body had collapsed. He had leased a Meatpacking District space to reopen Pastis, backed by a $1 million personal guarantee. Unable to walk or speak clearly, his daughter Sophie took charge of the project. Sophie sought release from the lease, but the landlords Aurora Capital's Bobby Cayre and Jared Epstein declined, reportedly at the urging of William Gottlieb Real Estate's Neil Bender. McNally experienced financial strain and depression and could not afford to lose a million dollars while incapacitated. Aurora's account differed, asserting they had no intention of pursuing the personal guarantee and that they worked with the family to find potential partners after an investor pulled out. The episode centers on a clash between medical crisis, legal obligations, and competing narratives around a high-profile lease.
Read at therealdeal.com
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