Saucy Bombay’s location at 2616 E. Colfax Ave. opened in 2018. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Weeks before a trial, securities regulators dropped the civil case they brought against a Denver restaurant whose investors lost out on $380,000.
Bombay Clay Oven opened in Highlands Ranch in the early 1990s before moving to Cherry Creek in 1997, where it occupied 165 Steele St. for 22 years until closing in 2019.
Bombay’s owners, Marshall and Rohini Miranda, also ran a fast-casual offshoot called Saucy Bombay at Republic Plaza downtown in the 2010s, until the food court it was in closed in 2015. It was Saucy Bombay that later came under scrutiny from state investigators.
In 2014, while both of their restaurants were still open, the Mirandas reportedly hired Michael Bissonnette, an investor and marketer in Longmont, to pitch investors on the idea of a Saucy Bombay empire that would begin with 140 franchises in 11 Western states before expanding east and possibly come to include thousands of locations, à la Chipotle.
Last year, the Colorado Division of Securities sued Saucy Bombay, Marshall Miranda, Bissonnette and his Bissonnette Consulting Group, accusing them of misleading investors. The restaurant and Miranda settled with the state by agreeing not to sell investments for two years. Then, on May 28, the Division of Securities dropped its case against Bissonnette.
“I felt from the beginning that they never should have brought the case,” said Paul Vorndran, an attorney for Bissonnette with Jones & Keller. “It was old, it was a very small capital raise, the reason why investors didn’t get a return is because restaurants are a tough business.
“There was no fraud there,” Vorndran said in an interview last week. “There were all sorts of disclosures about the risks of the investment, considering it’s a restaurant.”
Annelise Grygiel, a spokeswoman for the Division of Securities, explained its reasoning.
“The division considers a number of factors when deciding whether to settle or dismiss matters,” Grygiel said in an email last week. “These factors may include the potential for future public harm and circumstances that arise as cases progress through the system.”
Seventeen people — 16 Coloradans and one other — lost the $380,000 they invested in Saucy Bombay’s expansion plans during 2015 and 2016, state investigators say. The Mirandas opened a Saucy Bombay at 2616 E. Colfax Ave. in 2018. It is the only location.
Vorndran, who represented Bissonnette, says his client’s bank account and brokerage account were closed as a result of the lawsuit, affecting his personal finances.
“He is not mad. He is more just overwhelmingly relieved and very pleased,” Vorndran said of the broker, who refused a settlement offer that would have barred him from selling securities.
“The amount of money to settle the case was not the issue; he paid far more than that to defend it,” Vordran said, referring to attorney fees. “It was the prospect of having this injunction.”
“So, he’s thrilled. And on the defense side of these cases, it’s not often that that happens.”
Saucy Bombay’s location at 2616 E. Colfax Ave. opened in 2018. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Weeks before a trial, securities regulators dropped the civil case they brought against a Denver restaurant whose investors lost out on $380,000.
Bombay Clay Oven opened in Highlands Ranch in the early 1990s before moving to Cherry Creek in 1997, where it occupied 165 Steele St. for 22 years until closing in 2019.
Bombay’s owners, Marshall and Rohini Miranda, also ran a fast-casual offshoot called Saucy Bombay at Republic Plaza downtown in the 2010s, until the food court it was in closed in 2015. It was Saucy Bombay that later came under scrutiny from state investigators.
In 2014, while both of their restaurants were still open, the Mirandas reportedly hired Michael Bissonnette, an investor and marketer in Longmont, to pitch investors on the idea of a Saucy Bombay empire that would begin with 140 franchises in 11 Western states before expanding east and possibly come to include thousands of locations, à la Chipotle.
Last year, the Colorado Division of Securities sued Saucy Bombay, Marshall Miranda, Bissonnette and his Bissonnette Consulting Group, accusing them of misleading investors. The restaurant and Miranda settled with the state by agreeing not to sell investments for two years. Then, on May 28, the Division of Securities dropped its case against Bissonnette.
“I felt from the beginning that they never should have brought the case,” said Paul Vorndran, an attorney for Bissonnette with Jones & Keller. “It was old, it was a very small capital raise, the reason why investors didn’t get a return is because restaurants are a tough business.
“There was no fraud there,” Vorndran said in an interview last week. “There were all sorts of disclosures about the risks of the investment, considering it’s a restaurant.”
Annelise Grygiel, a spokeswoman for the Division of Securities, explained its reasoning.
“The division considers a number of factors when deciding whether to settle or dismiss matters,” Grygiel said in an email last week. “These factors may include the potential for future public harm and circumstances that arise as cases progress through the system.”
Seventeen people — 16 Coloradans and one other — lost the $380,000 they invested in Saucy Bombay’s expansion plans during 2015 and 2016, state investigators say. The Mirandas opened a Saucy Bombay at 2616 E. Colfax Ave. in 2018. It is the only location.
Vorndran, who represented Bissonnette, says his client’s bank account and brokerage account were closed as a result of the lawsuit, affecting his personal finances.
“He is not mad. He is more just overwhelmingly relieved and very pleased,” Vorndran said of the broker, who refused a settlement offer that would have barred him from selling securities.
“The amount of money to settle the case was not the issue; he paid far more than that to defend it,” Vordran said, referring to attorney fees. “It was the prospect of having this injunction.”
“So, he’s thrilled. And on the defense side of these cases, it’s not often that that happens.”
