Lettuce Entertain You Lawsuit: Centioli’s Forced Buyout Claim

The Lettuce Entertain You lawsuit filed in August 2025 was brought by Gerard Centioli, a business partner of more than 40 years, who accuses the Chicago restaurant group and the Melman family of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and a “corporate coup” that stripped him of his ownership stake in the Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab chain. The 20-count complaint, filed August 8, 2025, in Cook County Circuit Court, names founder Rich Melman, CEO R.J. Melman, and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises as defendants.¹

Who Gerard Centioli Is

Centioli’s relationship with LEYE dates to 1984, and by 1993 he sat on the company’s executive committee.²¹ The partnership was renamed Stone Dozen in 2010, and by 2012 Centioli had moved his interests into a successor entity called ICONcepts.

The Management Fee Dispute

Under the venture’s agreements, LEYE operated the Chicago and Las Vegas restaurants and collected a management fee, part of which was supposed to flow to Centioli’s side of the partnership. The complaint alleges that Centioli and Fox agreed in 2016 and 2017 to temporarily forgo their share to help LEYE with cash flow, and that those payments never resumed. In 2024, according to the suit, LEYE told Centioli it intended to keep the fees permanently.¹

Centioli says he and R.J. Melman reached a “handshake agreement” in December 2022 to settle what was owed and set future compensation, and that LEYE violated that deal by continuing to retain all fees. As of the 2022 agreement, the complaint claims Stone Dozen was owed more than $4.3 million.¹

The Alleged Forced Buyout

The lawsuit alleges that when the D.C. Joe’s Seafood location opened in 2014, LEYE launched it as a company subsidiary rather than through the ICON/Stone Dozen partnership, cutting Centioli and other non-Melman partners out of that restaurant’s ownership. The complaint characterizes R.J. Melman as wanting to take 100 percent of the equity for the family rather than share it with ICONcepts.¹

Centioli says LEYE formally terminated him in March 2025. On April 15, 2025, the Melmans allegedly sent what the complaint calls “fake sale documents” purporting to show that ICONcepts had sold its indirect interests in all three Joe’s Seafood restaurants to Lettuce Entertain You. Centioli alleges that Rich Melman “fraudulently signed documents” effectuating the transfer.³ Centioli rejected the deal as a sham and left the accompanying cashier’s checks uncashed.¹

What the Lawsuit Seeks

The complaint asks the court to declare the April 2025 buyout documents invalid and to award damages, including restitution of what it calls LEYE’s “unlawful gains.”¹ It also alleges that the Melmans were “diverting the financial benefits of the enterprise to themselves, their families and the Lettuce empire,” and it seeks recovery of the management fees Centioli says were effectively embezzled from Stone Dozen and ICONcepts.³

LEYE’s Response and Case Status

Lettuce Entertain You, represented by Gabriel Gillett of Jenner & Block, has denied the allegations. The company said the complaint “lacks merit” and that it would “vigorously defend this case in court” and expects to prevail.³¹

Other Pending Suits Against LEYE

The Centioli case is separate from a class action filed in September 2025 by a former Beatrix cook, Jorge Salinas, who alleges LEYE violated Chicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance and Illinois wage laws by failing to provide required paid leave and failing to pay out accrued time when employees left. The proposed class covers workers across more than 60 LEYE restaurants in Illinois, and the ordinance allows courts to award triple damages for violations.⁴⁵

1
Chicago Tribune. Lettuce Partner Lawsuit Fraud
2
NIAF. Gerard V. Centioli
3
Chicago Sun-Times. Lettuce Entertain You Sued by Melman Partner Centioli Over Joe’s Seafood
4
Legal Newsline. Class Action Targets Lettuce Under Chicago Paid Leave Rules
5
Illinois Restaurant Association. New Laws 2025