Midtown DistributionA large Chicago-based kosher food supplier has filed a lawsuit against Corn’s Kosher & Meat Deli, St. Louis’ only freestanding, full-service kosher food grocery store, for approximately $150,000 in unpaid invoices.
The lawsuit, filed June 27 in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois, alleges that Cones’ owners, Bake Cone LLC and Yehuda Kestenbaum, breached the contract and are now owed $149,345.20 to Midtown “for goods sold and delivered (and) for which payment has not been received.”
“Plaintiff repeatedly demanded payment from Cornes and its member, Yehuda Kestenbaum, for the outstanding balances on the products,” according to the lawsuit. “Despite Cornes and Kestenbaum acknowledging their obligation to pay the outstanding balances, they failed to do so.”
A letter posted on Cornes’ website on Tuesday, July 9, from Vaad Hoeir, a St. Louis-based company that provides kosher certification, said the deli restaurant and grocery store at 10405 Old Olive Street Road “closed until further notice” last week.
The letter also states that Vard understands the need for fresh kosher meat, kosher catering and kosher restaurants in St. Louis and has “taken all steps to support these efforts, however, numerous practical and legal issues remain to be resolved by the parties involved.”
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that we will be closing Cone’s after 19 months,” Kestenbaum said in a statement Wednesday, adding, “We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.”
“We have been actively searching for some time for an operator interested in carrying on the Corn’s tradition,” he said. “We hope to find a new operator in the near future.”
He declined to answer questions about the pending litigation.
Corn’s was purchased by two East Coast Orthodox Jewish businessmen, Renee Corn and her sister, Rosemary Cooper, for an undisclosed amount in November 2022. Corn and Cooper took over the business from their parents, Bobby and Simon Corn, who opened the grocery store and deli in 1963.
Calls to Midtown attorney Lawrence Benjamin were not returned Wednesday. The Jewish Light.
