Lawsuit Aims to Block Planned Spago Move

How can uprooting a restaurant ignite fear, cheers and the filing of a lawsuit?

If it involves Spago and Wolfgang Puck, that’s spark enough.

Last February, Puck announced plans to move his flagship Spago from its Sunset Strip location in West Hollywood to the site of the now-defunct Bistro Garden in Beverly Hills.

The combination of getting a prime location and the opportunity to open something different, something elegant, “an adult restaurant,” as Puck’s partner and wife, designer Barbara Lazaroff, described it in an August interview, was impossible to resist. With extensive renovation underway and a new chef named (Michael Otsuko, formerly of Patina), the new Spago is set to open in early February.

So what’s the problem? A lawsuit was recently filed by three limited partners against Puck, Spago and four other partners. The plaintiffs want a court order to block the move that, they allege, is a breach of contract, according to lawyer Peter Appleton, who represents the plantiffs. An agreement signed in 1981 stated that the three, plus Puck and four others, would remain partners until 2015.

“We tried to work things out,” Puck said. “We tried to buy them out, but I guess they’re holding out for more money. There is always someone who is unhappy.”

The three partners who filed the suit--Michael Elias, Gaile Wakeman and Jill Myers--collectively own two shares in Spago. Of the total shares sold (34), Puck said 32 are in favor of the move. Each share initially cost $15,000.

“We’ll go into arbitration and see what happens,” Puck said. “If we cannot agree, we’ll keep the old Spago open as is. But we will have to put lots of money into it. It’s old and needs work.” If Spago remains open at its original location, Puck said the food and ambience will remain the same.

The parties are not in arbitration at this time, according to Appleton. They may ultimately decide to arbitrate instead of litigate in the courts.

“I am not worried,” Puck said. “This is not the end of the world.” But the lawsuit--and the idea of a Spago opening in Beverly Hills--has set tongues wagging in the culinary world.

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Since plans for the new Spago were announced, the grapevine has been buzzing with questions and conjecture: Why is Puck moving? Why mess with such a phenomenal success? Will staid Beverly Hills be the kiss of death for Spago? For their two-cents’ worth former employees-turned-restaurateurs and peers of Puck volunteered their opinions.

“By opening the new place, Puck is going back to his roots,” said Mark Peel, chef-owner of Campanile who worked for Puck for 7 1/2 years.

“The move is risky. But sometime in your life you have to take risks. Puck’s background is in fine dining. He trained in three-star restaurants in France. He cooked at Ma Maison, and got tired of butter and cream. Then he opened Spago and created California cuisine and the kind of casual dining where you could order pizza and salad and that was OK.

“Who knows. Maybe he’s just sick of pizza?”

David Gingrass, chef-owner of Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco, worked at Spago for three years, then was opening chef, with wife Anne, at Puck’s Postrio in San Francisco, where the couple ran the kitchen for 5 1/2 years.

“There must be some big money in the deal to move Spago,” Gingrass surmised. “Puck and Barbara [recently] spent a fortune in fixing up the back room [of Spago]. After putting all that money into the building, why leave?

“But Spago is 15 years old. In a recent issue of Gourmet, which features the list of readers’ Top 20 Restaurants [in Los Angeles], Spago was missing.”

Joachim Splichal believes success brings opportunities and Puck nailed a good one.

“Why not take it?” said the chef-owner of Patina. “Wolf and Barbara are excellent restaurateurs. They are going into a proven location. Bistro Garden was very successful. Most restaurants are built on opportunity. This is one.”

Eddie Kerkofs, owner of Le Dome in West Hollywood, hates to see Spago leave the neighborhood, but he can’t blame Puck. “Spago’s location was terrible. But Puck made it work. Just walking up to the restaurant was difficult. The new place has more parking and is more accessible.

“In the long run what really matters [to be a success in Los Angeles] is what you put on the plate and who you sit next to. This is Hollywood.”

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Bernard Erpicum, owner of trendy Eclipse in West Hollywood, worked for Puck for 15 years, first as wine steward at Ma Maison, then maitre ‘d at Spago.

“As a chef, Puck is a visionary. As he grew and expanded and opened other places, he became more businesslike. I’m not saying the move to Beverly Hills is not iffy.

“Beverly Hills was hot 15 years ago. Now, after 7 p.m., it’s dead. If he took the former Bistro Garden and did something new with it, that would be another matter. But opening another Spago? We’ll see. If anyone can turn that around, Puck can.”

And that’s the point. Will it be the same old Spago? The answer is no, according to Puck, who describes the new venture as “chic elegant. . . . And the food is going to be different, too,” Puck said.

Piero Selvaggio, whose restaurant Valentino is 24 years old, thinks the new Spago will be a shot of vitality for Los Angeles’ dining scene. “You get bored doing the same old thing. We all have a limited repertoire. The new Spago will inject life into Beverly Hills. The national press will take notice. And it’s about time. Nothing new has happened in L.A. for years.”

Selvaggio has little patience for naysayers. “There is a group out there who are nostalgic and say, leave it alone. But Spago is fading away, physically.

“Spago has been Wolf’s flagship for 15 years. But the life of a restaurant is like a horse. Fifteen years and that’s it. You’ve got to move on.”