Hawai'i chef files Chapter 11 for remaining restaurants
By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer
Jean-Marie Josselin, the high-profile chef who at one time operated several restaurants in Hawai'i, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for his two remaining Hawai'i restaurants.
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 14, 2000
Josselin's lawyer, Jerrold Guben, said yesterday that Josselin filed the bankruptcies for his A Pacific Cafe restaurants in Kihei, Maui, and Kapa'a, Kaua'i, to protect their liquor licenses.
Jean-Marie Josselin filed for Chapter 11 at his Kihei and Kapa'a restaurants to protect liquor licenses there.
Liquor control departments on both islands require business owners to show proof of payment of federal and state taxes before liquor licenses can be renewed, county officials said yesterday. Josselin was unable to provide those tax clearances this year, county officials said.
Businesses operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection are not required to obtain those tax clearances to renew their liquor licenses, Guben said.
The deadline for renewal of liquor licenses on Maui is June 30, according to Glenn Mukai, deputy director of Maui County's Department of Liquor Control.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy for A Pacific Cafe in Kihei was filed June 29. As a result, Josselin was able to obtain a liquor license for the 2001-2002 fiscal year for that restaurant without having state and federal tax clearances, Mukai said.
The deadline for renewal of liquor licenses in Kaua'i County was also June 30. Josselin received two 30-day extensions to receive his tax clearance, said Eric Honma, director of the Kaua'i Department of Liquor Control.
However, because Josselin filed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the Kaua'i restaurant July 31, county officials are trying to determine whether that license can be protected under bankruptcy laws, Honma said.
A Pacific Cafe in Kapa'a currently is not serving liquor, Guben said.
Guben said he did not have information yesterday on the amount of taxes owed by the restaurants or the assets and liabilities of the Kaua'i restaurant.
The Maui restaurant's bankruptcy filing, which was filed under the name North Shore Bistro Inc., lists assets of $1 million and debts of $350,000.
Josselin, who did not return calls yesterday, closed A Pacific Cafe at Ward Centre in Honolulu in November. A restaurant he operated in Honokowai, Maui, has also been closed.
