A war has broken out inside Koreatown\u2019s red-hot hospitality and restaurant scene, and the combatants include some of the biggest names in Los Angeles\u2019 dining industry, including famed chef and restaurateur\u00a0Nancy Silverton\u00a0and her partner\u00a0Joe Bastianich.<\/p>\n
At the center of it all is an aspiring nightlife maven named\u00a0Robert Kim\u00a0who over the past nine years has helped launch a collection of high-profile restaurants and bars along Western Avenue which are part of the changing face of Koreatown \u2014 the three-square-mile Mid-City neighborhood that\u2019s home to the highest concentration of Korean Americans in the country.<\/p>\n
Kim\u2019s flashiest restaurant is upscale pasta bar Lapaba, which he opened last year in conjunction with Silverton and Bastianich, arguably the most powerful duo in LA\u2019s dining scene. (In addition to being a co-owner in several of Silverton\u2019s restaurants including Osteria Mozza, Chi Spacca, and Mozza2Go, Bastianich is also a co-owner of Eataly, where he worked with\u00a0Mario Batali.)<\/p>\n
Club Hue s opening in Koreatown\u2019s Chapman Plaza and aims to become a Soho House for Koreatown\u2019s jetset. Club Hue<\/p>\n
Kim\u2019s Koreatown portfolio extends far beyond Lapaba. He is a co-owner of the sushi restaurant Norikaya, where the head chef is the Michelin-starred\u00a0Akira Back. He is also a partner in the extremely popular lounge\/bar Mama Lion, where the line to get in often stretches around the corner of Western Avenue and 6th Street. As if that wasn\u2019t enough, Kim was \u2014 until recently \u2014 a guiding force behind a soon-to-launch private club, Club Hue, which is opening in Koreatown\u2019s Chapman Plaza and aims to become a Soho House for Koreatown\u2019s jetset.<\/p>\n
But Kim\u2019s growing hospitality empire is being thrust into the center of a blooming scandal as a key business partner is now accusing him of fraud and embezzlement in an elaborate scheme to prop up his empire. Another one of Kim\u2019s business partners tells Page Six Hollywood that he, too, has retained counsel over concerns of how Kim has allocated funds inside their venture.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Kim\u2019s longtime business partner at Mama Lion,\u00a0Robert Ahn, who owns several businesses in Koreatown, filed a lawsuit in California State Superior Court alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, civil theft and fraudulent transfer among other charges. The 35-page suit alleges that Kim embezzled millions in company funds.<\/p>\n
Kim is also a partner in the extremely popular lounge\/bar Mama Lion. Mama Lion<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom at least 2021 through 2025, Kim embezzled approximately $3,131,517.97 or more in Company funds through unauthorized personal credit card reimbursements, unilaterally burdened the Company with at least 2 high-interest debt[s] without authorization or disclosure in the amount of $236,600 and has refused to account for the use of any portion of the loan proceeds,\u201d the court docs read.<\/p>\n
The suit also alleges that Kim diverted \u201clabor, resources, and funds\u201d from Mama Lion to benefit his other businesses including Norikaya, Lapaba and Club Hue \u2014 meaning the blast zone from this suit could extend to multiple establishments. In fact, the holding companies for Norikaya and Lapaba are listed in Ahn\u2019s suit as \u2018nominal\u2019 defendants which means they have a connection to the dispute, but are not the true target of the legal filing.<\/p>\n
When contacted by P6H a representative for Lapaba declined to comment.<\/p>\n
When contacted on Wednesday evening, Kim noted that he filed his own lawsuit against Ahn last week in California State Superior Court. In that suit, he alleges slander and negligent infliction of emotional distress among other things. \u201cI need to see it before I comment,\u201d Kim told P6H of the suit against him when reached by phone.<\/p>\n
In Kim\u2019s suit, filed last week, he claims that his business partner had spread \u201cmalicious and unsubstantiated claims\u201d about him to other ventures including what his suit refers to as \u201ca project that is slated to open June 2026 (the \u2018JUNE PROJECT\u2019).\u201d<\/p>\n