Chicago’s 5 Rabbit Brewery has been making lots of headlines since its inception in 2011. The company secured former Goose Island suds guru John J. Hall as its new brewmaster. It finagled its way into Chicago-area Chipotle restaurants. It opened a cool new brewery last year in Chicago’s Bedford Park, a 25,000 sq-ft facility, about one mile southwest of Midway Airport.
Now, 5 Rabbit is making headlines again, but this time not for its Latin-inspired craft beer selection. According to a Crain’s Chicago Business report, the founding partners of 5 Rabbit Brewery are feuding. Andres Araya filed a lawsuit (which you can read here) against Isaac Showaki, claiming Showaki of a smear campaign against Araya, which includes claims of embezzlement and an affair (ouch).
According to Crain’s: “Mr. Showaki is accused of telling people that Mr. Araya misappropriated funds, including more than $25,000 from an investor, for personal use, and for claiming that Mr. Araya had an extramarital affair with a former employee. The accusations ‘were made maliciously and with the intent to destroy Araya’s good name and reputation and his ability to earn a living in his chosen profession.’”
Araya is seeking damages in excess of $100,000 in addition to punitive damages. Let’s hope these two can work it out, because this is getting ugly quickly.
