Jeffrey Chodorow
Born (1950-03-02) March 2, 1950
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Restaurateur, financier, lawyer

Jeffrey R. Chodorow (born March 2, 1950) is an American restaurateur, lawyer and financier.[1][2]

Early life and education

Jeffrey Chodorow was born in the Bronx, but his father died the year he was born, so he and his mother moved to Miami, Florida in 1950[3] to live with Chodorow's mother's sister.[4][5] His mother and aunt were both manicurists in a Cuban barbershop.[4] He grew up in Miami Beach. Chodorow grew up very poor in a very wealthy Miami area.[4]

Chodorow graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 with a degree in economics.[6] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1975 as a juris doctor.[3][5][7] He was a lawyer in Pennsylvania and Florida.[6][8]

Career

In the 1970s, Chodorow developed shopping centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1987, he opened a Bojangles' restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.[9]

In June 1988, BIA-COR Holdings, headed by Chodorow, purchased Braniff Inc., the 1984 successor to Braniff International Airways, owned by Hyatt Corporation. Braniff Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 1989 and ceased scheduled operations in November. The carrier operated a limited air charter operation during December and ceased all operations at the end of the month. BIA-COR purchased the assets of Braniff Inc. at auction.[10]

In 1991, BIA-COR resurrected the defunct airline, naming it Braniff International Airlines, Inc. after the original Braniff International Airways. However, the reborn airline was scrutinized intensely by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), which did not believe that its management team, headed by Scot Spencer, was capable of conducting airline operations based on Spencer's conduct during a consultancy with Braniff Inc. and his criminal history.[11][12] Spencer had resigned from the consultancy, reportedly over concerns about his repeated arrests for writing bad checks and an arrest warrant for having failed to return a rental car in 1988.[13] Seeking another way to begin flights, Braniff initiated the acquisition of the assets of bankrupt Austin, Texas, air charter company Emerald Air, including its air operator's certificate,[14] but the USDOT still refused to certify Braniff unless the principals submitted sworn affidavits stating that Spencer would not be involved in any capacity. Chodorow and others did so, which satisfied the USDOT, and the airline was granted permission to operate.[11]

Braniff International Airlines began flights on July 1, 1991, but filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy 37 days later.[15] Chief executive officer Gregory Dix resigned in early September and was replaced by Chodorow.[16] The bankrupt airline was able to secure sufficient financing to continue flying, only to shut down permanently on July 2, 1992.[17]

By this time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and USDOT were investigating Chodorow and Spencer over an alleged money laundering scheme designed to conceal Spencer's continued management of the airline. Investigators determined that Spencer had been "heavily involved" in airline operations and had been paid $351,411 in secret kickbacks from commissions paid to an advertising agency.[18] On July 19, 1994, Chodorow and Spencer were indicted for bankruptcy fraud, fraudulently concealing the bankrupt airline's property from creditors, defrauding the USDOT during the airline's certification, and obstructing a pending proceeding of the agency. In a plea bargain, the U.S. government dropped the bankruptcy fraud charges against Chodorow in return for his guilty plea to the USDOT charges.[11] On May 23, 1996, Chodorow was sentenced to four months in prison and four years supervised release and was ordered to pay a $40,000 fine; he had earlier agreed to pay the airline's bankruptcy trustees $1.25 million in restitution over five years.[19]

Chodorow was involved with the program The Restaurant, a reality TV show that aired on NBC in 2003, with a second season broadcasting in 2004.[20] The show was produced by Mark Burnett and starred celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito. The show portrayed the opening and running of a Manhattan restaurant and ongoing conflicts between DiSpirito and Chodorow, usually revolving around the lack of the restaurant's profitability. The show was canceled, Chodorow, the restaurant's financier, successfully sued DiSpirito to shut the restaurant down and DiSpirito was banned from entering the premises.[20]

Chodorow opened the Asia de Cuba restaurant at the Schrager Morgans Hotel,[21] He also owns China Grill Management, a collection of restaurants, several which are also in Schrager hotels.

In a full-page ad taken out in the February 21, 2007 dining section of The New York Times, Chodorow declared figurative war on critic Frank Bruni for giving him a poor review. The ad said the review was a personal attack and that he would follow up Bruni's reviews with visits to the restaurant, with his own review to follow on his blog.

On February 15, 2011, Sam Sifton of The New York Times reviewed Chodorow's newest restaurant Bar Basque, giving high marks to the food and trashing the decor and ambiance.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Susan Saulny (July 28, 2004). "Judge Orders Rocco Out of Rocco's". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Doree Shafrir (2007-11-14). "Chodorow Eats New York". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17.
  3. 1 2 "Rocco DiSpirito and Jeffrey Chodorow Feud - The Restaurant - Rocco's". NYMag.com. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. 1 2 Belinda Hulin (March 21, 2008). "Emperor of China Grill: Chodorow Runs Hip Eateries with Fun on the Menu". University of Pennsylvania Law School.
  6. 1 2 "Dealmaker Writes His Own Ticket". philly-archives. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Nagourney, Adam (June 22, 2005). "24 Restaurants and Still Hungry". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Lawyer Jeffrey Chodorow - Philadelphia, PA Attorney - Avvo.com". avvo.com. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Chinagrillmanagement.com Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Eichenwald, Kurt (June 27, 1988). "Four Take Braniff Posts After Buyout". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Scot SPENCER, Defendant-Appellant". FindLaw. 30 October 1997. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Woman, Phoenix. "Remember Braniff". Fire Dodge Lake. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Hagstron, Suzy (25 January 1990). "Shareholder seeks plan for Braniff". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida.
  14. ↑ Zimmerman, Martin (14 September 1990). "Braniff seeks to buy Emerald - Court OKs plan for management of charter airline". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas.
  15. ↑ Maxon, Terry (8 August 1991). "Braniff files for bankruptcy". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas.
  16. ↑ "Briefing". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. 14 September 1984.
  17. ↑ Maxon, Terry (3 July 1992). "Braniff shuts down, blames air fare wars". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas.
  18. ↑ "Braniff to end service between D/ FW, LA". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. 3 October 1995.
  19. ↑ "Business Digest". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. 24 May 1996.
  20. 1 2 Peterson, Helen (July 28, 2004). "TV Eatery's Rocco Gets A Bitter Pill To Swallow". Daily News.
  21. ↑ Findarticles.com Archived 2005-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ Sifton, Sam (2011-02-15). "Bar Basque". The New York Times.
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