This morning I posted Primo’s closed and went digging through court files. I found some interesting legal documents, but they did not refer to Primo’s. They led me down the rabbit hole to Sfuzzi’s and its proprietor Robert Columbo and his La Reve Consulting group. Columbo has been around Dallas for a long time. He was an original proprietor of Sfuzzi’s in 1986. He reopened the spot again in 2010. Columbo has also has operated Trece, Villa-O, Standard Pour, and Pozo Mercado. The Las Colinas location is owned by a different group and remains open.
According to the legal documents, La Reve leased several spaces behind the Sfuzzi’s location: Suites A&B at 2605 McKinney and 2605 Routh Street. Columbo planed to open a private, members-only Sfuzzi’s VIP club called No No. The landlord, Assets Holding, LP, handed over the keys on June 11, 2011. The space was gutted.
On August 30, 2013, Assets Holding, LP filed a lawsuit against La Reve claiming the group has not paid rent and claims fraud in a real estate transaction. They sued La Reve for $1 million.
On September 27, 2013, La Reve Consultants filed for bankruptcy and a Notice of Removal which basically petitions the landlord to remove the civil action.
It’s not looking good for the McKinney Ave. Sfuzzi’s or Robert Columbo. But stranger things have happened in the Dallas restaurant business.
Update: Culture Map is also reporting the news.
Update 12:43 Decemember 23: I just spoke with Robert Columbo. He clarifies the situation.
La Reve Consultants has not filed for bankruptcy. R&R R.S.P. C LLC, the LLC that operates Sfuzzi, filed for bankruptcy. La Reve, founded by Robert Columbo, is a managing member of R&R R.S.P. C LLC (Sfuzzi). The lawsuit above has been settled. “We initiated the lawsuit on or about August 17,”Columbo says. “They countersued us.” I can not find the August 17 lawsuit. Only the document I refer to above.
The $1million claim stems from the “disputed lease space”: the spaces mentioned above for Sfuzzi’s expansion (No No). The umbrella liquor license is under La Reve Consultants.
Columbo says Sfuzzi is open but future plans are developing. Will he stay in the space? “We’re not sure,” Colombo says. “We have certain opportunities but we haven’t gotten to that yet.”
(I have rewritten the headline. I can’t do a strikeout to show the original but it read: Robert Columbo’s La Reve Consultants Company Files for Bankruptcy.) And our time stamp function seems to have disappeared.
