A bitter battle between two Jewish bagel shop owners in Columbus, Ohio, has reached boiling point.
Hal Block, the 89-year-old owner of long-established Block’s Bagels, has taken his former business partner, Jeremy Fox, to court after Mr Fox rebranded two stores they previously ran together under his own name as Fox’s Bagel and Deli.
Mr Block, In a lawsuit filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on 12 October, alleges that his former partner violated a 10-year agreement, signed in 2016, which prevented Fox’s from using products from any company other than Block’s.
Judge Jaiza Page has granted Block’s a temporary restraining order prohibiting Fox’s from using any other companies’ products while other elements of the lawsuit are considered.
Mr Block’s lawsuit also names Mr Fox's father Ronald Fox, Sammy's Bagels, (which Mr Fox owns) and two other companies with which Mr Fox has been associated - Fox’s Foods and FRG Enterprises.
According to Mr Block’s lawsuit, Mr Fox had failed to pay annual licensing fees and performance bonus payments "equal to five per cent of the gross revenue in excess of $500,000, with a ceiling of $1,000,000, in annual sales generated (by its Bexley store, one of the two delis now run under the Fox’s brand).
The lawsuit claims the Bexley deli has exceeded $1m in revenue each year under the supply agreement.
It also alleges that Mr Fox did not exercise the option to buy Mr Block’s business, but kept equipment used at the original Block's deli in Ohio’s Broad St. Blocks’s Bagels was founded in 1967.
In a statement, Mr Fox said his company is prepared to make its case in court. "We recognize and respect the Block family's legacy in this community, and have spent years in conversations to try and reach common ground and resolve this matter. Unfortunately, it became clear that an agreement to purchase the company could not be reached.
“The financial risk of trying to complete a purchase transaction with a company carrying significant debt was too great, forcing us to make the difficult but necessary decision to move on. It is our responsibility to do what is right for our business and our employees – assuming a business that was unhealthy simply did not meet that obligation.”
Mr Block's attorney, James Arnold, said: "We are extremely disappointed that we were forced to file a lawsuit.
“We had no choice but to file suit or dozens of workers could have lost their jobs. We are grateful that the Court has entered a temporary restraining order enjoining the defendants from any further breaches and allowing our innocent employees to remain employed. We look forward to a hearing on the merits to fully vindicate our remaining rights."
The two Fox’s locations, which opened in 2017 and 2020, had been jointly operated and branded as Block’s Bagels shops until earlier this month, when Mr Fox announced on Facebook that all locations would be rebranded under the Fox’s label and that the Block’s shops would be “closed”.
The 10-count lawsuit is claiming more than $800,000 (£700,000) in total damages, including unpaid performance bonuses, equipment costs and sales losses.
Mr Block told the Columbus Jewish News: “Jeremy Fox’s actions as it relates to the Broad Street bagel shop formerly named Block’s Hot Bagels risks the livelihoods of my employees. I cannot sit idly by and watch this happen.
“I’m 89 years old. My plans at this stage of my life didn’t include a legal fight to try and obtain what is owed from a business partner who we helped establish and set up for success.”
