David Bernahl Wins First Battle in Court While Faith & Flower Continues Under CLM Control

Faith & Flower is still operating without too much of a hiccup, at least from what diners can se. But that doesn't meant that there's been backroom drama with partners. This piece shows some of the dynamic that's occurred ever since Rob Weakley was given a buy out of Coastal Luxury Management. Here's what's at stake, according to this recent story in The Carmel Pine Cone:

1. The original partnership between Coastal Luxury Management, which is controlled by David Bernahl, and Jeff and Cindy Troesh (who previously owned the Watermarke Tower, whereupon the restaurant is located) started to fall apart in the legal sense once the latter party accused CLM of defaulting on the $20,000 a month rent.

2. However, a judge declared that Faith & Flower had not defaulted on its lease, but rather non-payment of other funds that aren't related to the payment of rent. The operating agreement had stipulated that the Troeshs would be able to arrest control of Faith & Flower if rent had not been paid, but Faith & Flower was not found to be in default of the lease.

3. At the moment, Coastal Luxury Management retains operational control of Faith & Flower. The Troeshs can contend they deserve control if they can prove that CLM had engaged in self-dealing or theft/embezzlement. They contend that CLM "wrongfully" took more than $200,000 in funds, which Bernahl says relates to managements and other funds due. CLM has agreed to allow a third party to currently manage Faith & Flower's human resources and accounting.

4. Faith & Flower reported a net ordinary income of $67K and $94K for the months October and November. Bernahl is estimating that projected net profits for 2015 will amount to $1 Million, no easy feat for a restaurant that's barely a year old.