Falafel King products for sale at Whole Foods Market, 1701 Wewatta St. in Denver. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Forty-five years after coming to Colorado from Israel, the brothers behind Boulder’s Falafel King are feuding over control of the restaurant, its accompanying wholesale business and a collection of commercial real estate in Denver and Boulder.
The animus between Amnon and Avner Gilady, which dates to a botched sale in 2023, reached new heights last month when the former filed a 60-page lawsuit against his brother and their many shared businesses, seeking millions of dollars and dissolution of LLCs.
That case not only threatens the Giladys’ businesses but also risks spilling secrets about their companies’ inner workings. Amnon Gilady, for example, alleged last month that the brothers’ restaurant along the Pearl Street Mall claims to be kosher when it actually is not.
“Avner vehemently disputes almost every fact alleged in Amnon’s complaint and looks forward to the truth coming out in court,” Avner attorney Jon Banashek said in response.
Reached by phone, Avner called it sad to see their business dispute become so nasty.
“Basically, it is a family feud at this point,” the older brother said. “We’ve been negotiating for two years about how we are going to split this company and we can’t get eye to eye.”
‘Not even a handshake’
A different Israeli immigrant, Schlomo Ravid, started Falafel King in 1979. A few years later he sold it to Avner. Offering Mediterranean food in a convenient style that would come to be called fast-casual, Falafel King grew from Boulder to Denver in 1984.
Amnon joined his brother in the United States and went to work for the restaurant, which had outposts in downtown’s Tabor Center and Republic Plaza. The Giladys expanded their Boulder space at 1314 Pearl St. to include an industrial kitchen that supplied the restaurants.
Amnon Gilady (Facebook)
“As brothers, we didn’t have a lot of things in writing, because we trusted each other,” Avner told BusinessDen. “Not even a handshake, because it was so obvious there was not going to be an issue.”
The brothers’ first major disagreement came in the mid-2000s, but it was a polite one. Amnon wanted to use their industrial kitchen to make wholesale products, which are now sold at King Soopers and Whole Foods. Avner preferred to expand their Denver rug store.
“I let him run the wholesale (company) and run it the way that he thought we should run it, for different reasons. We don’t mingle in each other’s businesses,” Avner said.
Allure Rug Studios, at 340 S. Broadway, was a failure, according to Amnon. But it led the brothers further into a lucrative industry of the 2010s: Front Range real estate.
“The sad part is that we have been together for 42, 43 years. Working together, no argument, nothing,” Avner said. “But when things came to a point where we might have sold the wholesale grocery store stuff that my brother handles, that’s where the feud started.”
‘It’s only money’
In mid-2022, Amnon was approached by a prospective buyer for the wholesale business. That buyer, whose name and offer are not disclosed in court documents, and which Amnon and his attorneys declined to discuss with BusinessDen, wanted exclusive use of the Falafel King name and logo, according to Amnon. That would require a rebrand along Pearl Street.
“Avner agreed that the restaurant would not use the Falafel King trademark and that Avner would design a new logo,” according to the lawsuit Amnon filed Nov. 21. But when “Avner learned of the potential purchase price,” he claimed to own half of the wholesale business. An attempt by Amnon to buy him out for $2 million failed and the sale was scuttled.
“Following the failed sale and Avner’s false claim of ownership in the wholesale business,” Amnon’s lawsuit says, “Amnon began to question whether Avner was being truthful with Amnon about the financial condition of the properties and businesses that Avner managed.”
Avner Gilady at the Falafel King restaurant in Boulder in 2020. (YouTube)
The Giladys own, 50-50, four commercial properties in Boulder, just as many in Denver, and one residential property: a small apartment building at 1138 N. Marion St. near Cheesman Park. Avner and his daughter, Nicole Street, manage the real estate, according to Amnon.
The younger Gilady accuses Avner of stealing more than $1 million from the properties over 10 years. He claims Avner told his brother that a tenant’s rent at 3039 Walnut St. in Denver was $2,000 per month when it was actually $6,000 and then pocketing the difference. Amnon also claims Avner said their apartment building had three tenants when it actually had five.
“Avner has caused (Allure Rug Studios’ former) 340 Broadway property to continue to sit vacant and in disrepair, while also failing to stay current on insurance premiums, property taxes and utility bills,” according to the lawsuit. The suit makes 31 claims against Avner, his daughter, and the brothers’ companies, including theft, fraud and breach of contract.
“This is part of my brother’s negotiations,” Avner said. “We are trying to solve some issues. This is more, like, pressure to go along with what he wants. Some of the allegations are not real.”
Amnon is asking Judge Chris Larson in Boulder to dissolve the brothers’ 50-50 real estate LLCs, sort out once and for all who owns the Pearl Street restaurant (Avner says he alone does) and Falafel King wholesale business (Amnon says he alone does), prohibit the restaurant from using the Falafel King trademark, and award Amnon an unspecified amount of money.
His attorneys are Justin Cohen and Alex Jack with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
“I think the idea of going to court, it’s a scare tactic,” Avner said. “I don’t mind going to court whenever the time comes. It’s only money and that’s the problem — big, big money. But I think it’s getting serious now. Until now it was a lot of talk and mediation that didn’t result in much.
Falafel King’s wholesale products. (Facebook)
“I bet in about a month, we’ll come to some kind of an agreement because we both want it,” Avner said. “It’s only a question of who gets what and for how much, you know? That’s it, nothing else.”
Avner, 72, said that in the meantime he will continue running the first and only remaining Falafel King restaurant along Pearl Street, where he still handles the lunch rush.
“We worked together for 40 years,” he said of himself and his younger brother. “Yeah, we have a problem, we push each other, but we’re not going to let this go to hell. No way. We have too much invested: money, energy. We’ve spent, already, a lot of money with lawyers and we don’t need that. We are a small, small business. We are taking money that we collected over the years and giving it away to lawyers for no reason — both of us. So, it’s kind of sad.”
Falafel King products for sale at Whole Foods Market, 1701 Wewatta St. in Denver. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Forty-five years after coming to Colorado from Israel, the brothers behind Boulder’s Falafel King are feuding over control of the restaurant, its accompanying wholesale business and a collection of commercial real estate in Denver and Boulder.
The animus between Amnon and Avner Gilady, which dates to a botched sale in 2023, reached new heights last month when the former filed a 60-page lawsuit against his brother and their many shared businesses, seeking millions of dollars and dissolution of LLCs.
That case not only threatens the Giladys’ businesses but also risks spilling secrets about their companies’ inner workings. Amnon Gilady, for example, alleged last month that the brothers’ restaurant along the Pearl Street Mall claims to be kosher when it actually is not.
“Avner vehemently disputes almost every fact alleged in Amnon’s complaint and looks forward to the truth coming out in court,” Avner attorney Jon Banashek said in response.
Reached by phone, Avner called it sad to see their business dispute become so nasty.
“Basically, it is a family feud at this point,” the older brother said. “We’ve been negotiating for two years about how we are going to split this company and we can’t get eye to eye.”
‘Not even a handshake’
A different Israeli immigrant, Schlomo Ravid, started Falafel King in 1979. A few years later he sold it to Avner. Offering Mediterranean food in a convenient style that would come to be called fast-casual, Falafel King grew from Boulder to Denver in 1984.
Amnon joined his brother in the United States and went to work for the restaurant, which had outposts in downtown’s Tabor Center and Republic Plaza. The Giladys expanded their Boulder space at 1314 Pearl St. to include an industrial kitchen that supplied the restaurants.
Amnon Gilady (Facebook)
“As brothers, we didn’t have a lot of things in writing, because we trusted each other,” Avner told BusinessDen. “Not even a handshake, because it was so obvious there was not going to be an issue.”
The brothers’ first major disagreement came in the mid-2000s, but it was a polite one. Amnon wanted to use their industrial kitchen to make wholesale products, which are now sold at King Soopers and Whole Foods. Avner preferred to expand their Denver rug store.
“I let him run the wholesale (company) and run it the way that he thought we should run it, for different reasons. We don’t mingle in each other’s businesses,” Avner said.
Allure Rug Studios, at 340 S. Broadway, was a failure, according to Amnon. But it led the brothers further into a lucrative industry of the 2010s: Front Range real estate.
“The sad part is that we have been together for 42, 43 years. Working together, no argument, nothing,” Avner said. “But when things came to a point where we might have sold the wholesale grocery store stuff that my brother handles, that’s where the feud started.”
‘It’s only money’
In mid-2022, Amnon was approached by a prospective buyer for the wholesale business. That buyer, whose name and offer are not disclosed in court documents, and which Amnon and his attorneys declined to discuss with BusinessDen, wanted exclusive use of the Falafel King name and logo, according to Amnon. That would require a rebrand along Pearl Street.
“Avner agreed that the restaurant would not use the Falafel King trademark and that Avner would design a new logo,” according to the lawsuit Amnon filed Nov. 21. But when “Avner learned of the potential purchase price,” he claimed to own half of the wholesale business. An attempt by Amnon to buy him out for $2 million failed and the sale was scuttled.
“Following the failed sale and Avner’s false claim of ownership in the wholesale business,” Amnon’s lawsuit says, “Amnon began to question whether Avner was being truthful with Amnon about the financial condition of the properties and businesses that Avner managed.”
Avner Gilady at the Falafel King restaurant in Boulder in 2020. (YouTube)
The Giladys own, 50-50, four commercial properties in Boulder, just as many in Denver, and one residential property: a small apartment building at 1138 N. Marion St. near Cheesman Park. Avner and his daughter, Nicole Street, manage the real estate, according to Amnon.
The younger Gilady accuses Avner of stealing more than $1 million from the properties over 10 years. He claims Avner told his brother that a tenant’s rent at 3039 Walnut St. in Denver was $2,000 per month when it was actually $6,000 and then pocketing the difference. Amnon also claims Avner said their apartment building had three tenants when it actually had five.
“Avner has caused (Allure Rug Studios’ former) 340 Broadway property to continue to sit vacant and in disrepair, while also failing to stay current on insurance premiums, property taxes and utility bills,” according to the lawsuit. The suit makes 31 claims against Avner, his daughter, and the brothers’ companies, including theft, fraud and breach of contract.
“This is part of my brother’s negotiations,” Avner said. “We are trying to solve some issues. This is more, like, pressure to go along with what he wants. Some of the allegations are not real.”
Amnon is asking Judge Chris Larson in Boulder to dissolve the brothers’ 50-50 real estate LLCs, sort out once and for all who owns the Pearl Street restaurant (Avner says he alone does) and Falafel King wholesale business (Amnon says he alone does), prohibit the restaurant from using the Falafel King trademark, and award Amnon an unspecified amount of money.
His attorneys are Justin Cohen and Alex Jack with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
“I think the idea of going to court, it’s a scare tactic,” Avner said. “I don’t mind going to court whenever the time comes. It’s only money and that’s the problem — big, big money. But I think it’s getting serious now. Until now it was a lot of talk and mediation that didn’t result in much.
Falafel King’s wholesale products. (Facebook)
“I bet in about a month, we’ll come to some kind of an agreement because we both want it,” Avner said. “It’s only a question of who gets what and for how much, you know? That’s it, nothing else.”
Avner, 72, said that in the meantime he will continue running the first and only remaining Falafel King restaurant along Pearl Street, where he still handles the lunch rush.
“We worked together for 40 years,” he said of himself and his younger brother. “Yeah, we have a problem, we push each other, but we’re not going to let this go to hell. No way. We have too much invested: money, energy. We’ve spent, already, a lot of money with lawyers and we don’t need that. We are a small, small business. We are taking money that we collected over the years and giving it away to lawyers for no reason — both of us. So, it’s kind of sad.”
