Jeffrey Chodorow

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 and Braniff International Corporation, that was 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 Boeing 727 charter operation during December and ceased all operations at the end of the month. Chodorow's group purchased the assets of Braniff Inc., at auction and used the assets to form another Braniff named airline.^[10]

In 1991, Chodorow resurrected the defunct Braniff Inc. and named 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 Braniff's management team, headed by Scot Spencer, was capable of conducting airline operations, based on Spencer's conduct while employed with Braniff Inc. and his criminal history.^[11][12] Spencer had previously been a consultant for the parent company of Braniff Inc. but had resigned, 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 began flights on July 1, 1991, but filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a mere 37 days later.^[15] CEO 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] During Chodorow's prison term, Jack Polsenberg and Neil Faggen kept the restaurants open and ran them until Chodorow was released from jail.^{[11][failed verification]}

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 as well as ongoing conflicts between DiSpirito and Chodorow, usually revolving around the lack of the restaurant's profitability. The show was canceled and DiSpirito was successfully sued by Chodorow, the restaurant's financier, to have the restaurant shut down and DiSpirito 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, a number of which are also in Schrager hotels.^{[citation needed]}

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 himself, 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[]

External links[]

• China Grill Management's official site
• Smoking Gun felony conviction papers
• LX.TV Video Interview
• New York Magazine Profile
• New York Observer Article on the Chodorow/Rocco DiSpirito feud