Cask & Ale project sparks legal battle

Months after the Cask & Ale cocktail lounge and tapas restaurant planned to move into a Main Street storefront, the owners of the St. Petersburg-based business are embroiled in a legal battle as the bar remains unopened.

Jeffery Catherell, who has represented the business throughout the process of applying to open a Sarasota location this year, is at the center of the dispute. During public meetings in the city, he hasn’t tried to hide his plans for the future of Cask & Ale.

At a Feb. 18 workshop where he initially discussed his proposal, Catherell said the owners of the bar were expanding with an eye toward eventually selling their portfolio to a larger entity.

Those plans may now be jeopardized by a lawsuit filed against Catherell Sept. 20 in Pinellas County. The lawsuit, filed by the business’ co-owners Brother’s Associates LLC, seeks damages in excess of $15,000 from Catherell.

The lawsuit alleges that Catherell, who had been appointed to manage the day-to-day operations of the business, sought to trademark the Cask & Ale brand without the knowledge of Brother’s Associates. It also claims Catherell concealed business-related information from the company and began diverting money to himself, among other allegations of mismanagement.

In the lawsuit, Catherell is identified as a managing member of Special Cask Blend LLC, which owns a 25% stake in Brother’s Associates and has an operating agreement with the company to run Cask & Ale.

“Catherell continues to claim personal ownership of the Cask & Ale name (and) is continuing in his efforts to license out the name for his personal benefit,” the complaint states.

Catherell denies allegations of improper business practices, saying the lawsuit is motivated by a personal dispute with a member of Brother’s Associates.

“Never once have I denied them access to the business, the office or any information,” he said.

Catherell claims to have the right to trademark Cask & Ale and said he is being forced out after putting in the work to open the Sarasota location.

Catherell said he was pursuing legal action in response to the lawsuit, stating that he signed and personally guaranteed the lease for the Sarasota location. He said the ownership group still intends to open the Sarasota bar without his involvement. Representatives for Brother’s Associates did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Catherell alleges the Sarasota Cask & Ale did not disclose Catherell’s involvement with the project in its application for a liquor license with the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. He was hopeful he could retain his place with the company after he raised that issue with the state.

“If enforcement stops the liquor license, I’m not going to even bother filing the (legal) complaint because they’re going to be forced to come back to the table with me,” Catherell said.

It’s still unclear when the Sarasota location plans to open. Jesse Biter, the entrepreneur who owns the Main Street property Cask & Ale is slated to move into, was unaware of any changes to the status of the project.

“No update from them,” Biter wrote in an email Nov. 7. “I’m not sure what’s going on.”

Work is continuing on the property at 1548 Main St. Shaun St. Dennis, co-owner of KS Contracting Services, said construction was completed within the past two weeks.

“It's pretty much just sitting the way we left it,” St. Dennis said. 

Catherell said he intends to file his complaints by next week, if necessary.

“They thought they could fire me and tell me to take a hike, but I’m fighting against them,” he said.