My Fit Foods Lawsuit, Arrest, and Sudden Shutdown

The My Fit Foods lawsuit that drew the most attention was a 2014 control fight between founder Mario Mendias and private equity investor TSG Consumer Partners, but it was only one piece of the company’s legal story. Mendias was arrested in Austin in April 2015 on cocaine possession and public intoxication charges. Less than two years later, in February 2017, the Austin-based prepared-meal chain shut all of its more than 50 locations across five states overnight and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy weeks after that. The main bankruptcy case is still open.

The Founder vs. TSG Control Fight

MFF Legacy Holdings, an entity linked to Mendias, sued TSG5 AIV 1, a TSG-affiliated investment vehicle, in Travis County District Court. The claims were breach of contract, breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of the duty of loyalty.¹

TSG had made a minority equity investment in January 2013, aimed at funding expansion.² According to the lawsuit, TSG then took majority control of the board later that year and imposed cost cuts Mendias called “financially disastrous.” The core allegation was a planned issuance of 50 million common units at 10 cents per unit, which Mendias said was structured to force a $2.3 million capital contribution from Legacy Holdings. If Legacy could not pay, its stake would fall from 46 percent to roughly 1 percent, effectively wiping out the founder’s ownership.¹

The suit sought between $1 million and $50 million in damages. As of the July 2014 reporting, no trial date had been set. Mendias was moved out of the CEO role the following month, becoming chairman and senior adviser while David Goronkin took over as CEO.³

Mendias’s 2015 Arrest

On April 27, 2015, Mendias was arrested in Austin on charges of cocaine possession and public intoxication. A Travis County arrest affidavit said police responded to a disturbance call at the W Hotel and found the 39-year-old Mendias pinned to the ground by a security guard, who reported that Mendias had struck him in the face three times with an open palm. Officers reported finding a bag of cocaine on him. Bond was set at $12,000.⁴

The Overnight Shutdown

On February 13, 2017, My Fit Foods closed every store across five states with no public warning. The company gave no specific reason. Employees learned by text message the night before. One message read: “Good evening team. It is with a heavy heart when I say this, but today was the last day of business. My Fit Foods is closing as a company.”⁵

Store-level managers were caught out too. A general manager at the Tulsa Memorial Drive location said he was notified at 9:00 p.m. the previous night.⁶ Warning signs had been visible for months: three Chicago stores had closed in October 2016, and industry observers noted internal layoffs late that year along with reports of unpaid rent and vendor invoices. A company representative acknowledged the heavy concentration of stores in the Houston area “definitely played a factor.”⁷

What Customers and Employees Were Left With

Customers held unused gift cards and prepaid “fit fund” account balances with no clear path to a refund. The company directed inquiries to a corporate email address, but customers reported being unable to reach anyone. Those who had paid by credit card were advised to dispute the charges with their card issuers, and some competitors offered to honor My Fit Foods gift cards at partial value.⁸ In Tulsa, John Behles of Balanced Fork offered up to a week of free meals to affected customers who could show receipts or app records.⁶

Employees were unsure whether they would see final paychecks. One worker told reporters that management said they were waiting “to see if we could get that check Wednesday.” Another said that if the company filed bankruptcy before payday, “we basically worked for no reason.”⁵

The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

On March 3, 2017, less than three weeks after the shutdown, multiple My Fit Foods entities filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. My Fit Foods, LLC filed under Case No. 4:17-bk-40861, and MFF DCK, LLC filed under Case No. 4:17-bk-40850.⁹ My Fit Foods California, LLC filed separately the same day.¹⁰

In April 2017, the court consolidated My Fit Foods, LLC and MFF DCK, LLC for joint administration, with MFF DCK as the lead case. My Fit Foods USA, LLC, My Fit Foods Payroll, LLC, and Fit Dog, LLC were also brought into the jointly administered proceedings. Shawn K. Brown was appointed Chapter 7 trustee.¹¹

The California entity’s case was terminated in August 2022 as a “no asset” case, meaning nothing was available to distribute to creditors.¹⁰ The consolidated case under MFF DCK, LLC remains open as of 2026. The trustee is still filing objections to settled, duplicate, and incorrectly filed claims, with hearings scheduled for July 2026 and a projected final report date of December 31, 2026.¹¹

Other Litigation After the Closure

One post-closure case surfaced in Los Angeles. In March 2018, Jorge Aspron filed a personal-property claim in Los Angeles County Superior Court against My Fit Foods USA LLC, My Fit Foods California LLC, Simha Partnership Ltd, and an individual named Hakim Masud. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice in October 2021.¹²

1
Austin American-Statesman. Battle for Control of My Fit Foods Heads to Court
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Nation’s Restaurant News. My Fit Foods Receives Funding From TSG
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Nation’s Restaurant News. My Fit Foods Names David Goronkin CEO
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Washington Times. My Fit Foods Founder Charged With Cocaine Possession
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Click2Houston. My Fit Foods Announces Closure of All Stores Nationwide
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KJRH. My Fit Foods Closes Tulsa Locations, Notifies Customers on Facebook
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Houston Chronicle. My Fit Foods Abruptly Closes All Stores
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ABC13. My Fit Foods Announced the Closure of All Their Stores
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INFOruptcy. Bankruptcy Case – My Fit Foods LLC
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PACER Monitor. My Fit Foods California LLC
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INFOruptcy. Bankruptcy Case – MFF DCK LLC
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UniCourt. Jorge Aspron vs My Fit Foods USA LLC et al