A Benihana Family Brouhaha

Published on Friday, July 23, 2010, by James Norton / Edit Post

Two years ago, we marked the passing of Rocky Aoki, founder of the famed and sprawling Benihana restaurant chain. Little did we know at that point in time that this colorful character* would leave a legacy of family and financial strife that DailyFinance quite reasonably compares to the plot of King Lear.

The site's lengthy account includes references to allegations of insider trading, kid versus stepmom squabbling, a proxy battle, and a fight for control of a trust that, in turn, may be the key to controlling the restaurant chain. Will the children of Aoki win? Or his third wife? Or will the whole mess disintegrate and force a breakup of the company? The dramatic stakes are high, and one thing's for certain: The whole story contains the solid bones of an entertaining screenplay.

*Olympic wrestler. Porno magazine and disco founder. First person to cross the Pacific in a hot air balloon. Backgammon champion.

Image source: Flickr member woodleywonderworks under Creative Commons

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  • I smell a mini-series! A Dynasty/Dallas for the foodie age!

  • Well, maybe "we" should care, ibut f one doesn't care, then don't read it; the link pikiliz posted is an amazing story of a savvy businessman/restauranteur who was instrumental in very successfully introducing a Japanese style of cooking and eating, regardless of what one thinks of the authenticity or quality of the food, that was largely unknown in the US, and entertained his customers in a...+READ

    Well, maybe "we" should care, ibut f one doesn't care, then don't read it; the link pikiliz posted is an amazing story of a savvy businessman/restauranteur who was instrumental in very successfully introducing a Japanese style of cooking and eating, regardless of what one thinks of the authenticity or quality of the food, that was largely unknown in the US, and entertained his customers in a unique way at the same time. Sadly, the rest of the story is one of greed and dysfunction.-COLLAPSE

  • here is a link to the story of Benihana
    http://www.benihana.com/about/the-benihana-story

  • Well you should care because while rocky was a outrageous caricature he brought oriental to the masses with showman ship and style that in a way has opened up the American public's eyes to different(not traditional) foods he started this a long time ago

  • And we should care? Why exactly.