Contractor sued third party as Foxwoods restaurant projects fizzled
A Norwich contractor hired to build two celebrity-themed restaurants at Foxwoods Resort Casino is awaiting payment of more than $1.6 million from a third party involved in the projects, which have been shelved — perhaps permanently, according to the casino’s top executive.
The restaurant locations, now boarded up, were to house Richard Rawlings’ Garage Bar & Grill and Cat Cora’s Wine Bar.
“We don’t have any legal issues with anyone,” Felix Rappaport, the Foxwoods president and chief executive officer, stressed in a phone interview this week. “Both of the restaurants were going to be owned and managed by a third party. The projects stalled with that third party, so we, in essence, canceled our agreement.”
G. Schnip Construction Inc., however, does have legal issues with the third party, Mitchell Brands LLC of Key Largo, Fla.
In a lawsuit filed this spring in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Schnip claimed Mitchell had awarded the company a $3.5 million contract to build the Garage restaurant, which was to bear the brand of Rawlings, star of “Fast N’ Loud,” a popular reality show that airs on the Discovery Channel.
Schnip “undertook the performance of its obligations” under the contract, completing nearly $1.6 million worth of work, according to the suit.
Mitchell Brands, the suit claimed, also had named Schnip the general contractor for the restaurant that was to bear the brand of Cat Cora, a Food Network “Iron Chef.” Schnip claimed it had performed demolition work amounting to $46,000.
In a document dated May 31, the parties — Schnip and Mitchell — agreed to a total settlement amount of $1,628,608. On June 8, Judge Janet Hall signed the “Stipulated Consent Judgment.”
Schnip Construction has yet to receive any payment, Timothy Corey, a Hartford attorney representing the contractor, said Tuesday. On Corey’s advice, Gary Schnip, the company president, declined to comment. Attempts to reach an attorney for Mitchell Brands were unsuccessful.
In a separate suit, also in federal court, Schnip is seeking to recover damages from an individual, Dashawn Hill, and Thoroughbred Research & Investments, both of Oklahoma City, Okla. According to the suit, Hill is a member of Mitchell Brands and managing member of Thoroughbred Research.
The Rawlings and Cora restaurants were among four celebrity-themed eateries Foxwoods originally planned to roll out in the fall of 2016. All four were announced in June of that year in connection with the casino’s push to become a “full-service resort destination” offering much more than gaming.
The other two restaurants named at the time — Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar and The Sugar Factory — have since opened.
“When I got here, 80 percent of the restaurants were owned by Foxwoods,” said Rappaport, who arrived in 2014. “We wanted to freshen our offerings. We’ve brought in some very robust, vibrant brands. ... Sometimes, when you go down the path of third-party partners, things happen. It’s just part of the business.”
Rappaport said Foxwoods plans to open a new restaurant called Caputo Trattoria in the winter. It’s to be owned by the Craveable Hospitality Group, which owns the casino’s David Burke Prime restaurant, and will fill the space formerly occupied by Al Dente, he said.
As for the Foxwoods HighFlyer, Rappaport said the much-anticipated zip line ride could be up and running by mid-September but “no later than Oct. 1.” Designing the 3,700-foot line, which will extend from the roof of the Fox Tower down to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, proved to be a bigger challenge than anticipated, he said.
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