Driving down Lexington Avenue, you’ll see the windows of new moonshine bar and Southern restaurant Lex 18 are covered, with notices reading, “Reopening soon with original Jack and Masters designers, management and new chef.”
Context? A comment on Ashvegas gives clues:
Ashvegas.com
By Jason Sanford:
Here’s a comment from Joseph Malki, one of the original partners in Lex 18, that was posted on Stu Helm’s recent review:
“Hey folks just wanted to be as transparent and I can legally be. My business partners at Jack & Masters: my sister Georgia S. Malki, Alan van de Kamp Grau, Joe Caristo and myself have not managed Lex 18 Moonshine Bar Southern Restaurant Musical Diversion since April 19th. Unfortunately the new management seems to have changed many of the qualities of our original vision. The majority owner Suwana Cry is currently in control of the restaurant.
“Jack and Masters performed the build-out, interior design, branding, musical entertainment and social media launch in a whopping 3 weeks. We got out of the gate with rave reviews and great community support. This included several locals giving the original recipes made by Chef Randy Carter and Chef Jason Treadway 5 stars on their chicken and waffles, Moravian shrimp and grits, etc.
“By the weekend of April 20th and in our fourth week of operation we were packing out dinners, having great entertainment and on the way to financial solvency with 20% daily increase in revenue. Mysteriously, after our best night ever were locked by majority owner Ms. Cry. According to reviews after our management the quality, service and vision of the restaurant seemed to have taken a downward turn.
“Jack and Masters are currently in negotiations with Ms. Cry’s attorneys.
“Jack and Masters’ will always be committed to using local and organic produce and English speaking staff will a remain firm. Hopefully this dispute will be resolved quickly and we will be back in the saddle or onto another venture.
“Thanks for the wonderful support and reviews up to the end our management at Lex18.
“We love our town and blogs like Ashvegas. Candor and honesty about food and service quality in AVL is something that our town desperately need. Keep up the good work!”
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