Family of Napa chef sues after ‘hostile takeover’ of his restaurants

The estate of the late Michael Chiarello, who owned popular Napa Valley restaurant Bottega, has filed a lawsuit claiming assets have been illegally snatched from his legacy by former friends and investors.

When Michael Chiarello died in October 2023, aged 61, from a severe allergic reaction causing anaphylactic shock and a heart attack, the Napa dining circuit went into mourning. A well-known face on the scene, Chiarello owned several restaurants as well as wine business The Chiarello Family Vineyards.

Now, his family estate is suing a group of minority investors in Chiarello’s restaurant portfolio for seizing restaurants belonging to the late chef and his family, including the acclaimed Bottega, Ottimo, and Coqueta, all in Yountville, Napa County.

According to a lawsuit filed by the Chiarello family on 14 July, Richard Frank, John Hansen, Peter Crowley, JH Capital Partners II, LP, and Monte Savello Limited Partnership met secretly to plot how they would “immediately seize control” of the restaurants.

The group allegedly participated in “a campaign of coercion, fraud, and interference to try to trick, intimidate, and pressure Chef Chiarello’s Estate to surrender to the Defendants’ efforts to wrest control of the valuable assets rightfully belonging to Chef Chiarello’s Estate,” the lawsuit states.

“Wrong-doing”

Documents filed with the Superior Court of Napa County further allege that there has been “wrong-doing surrounding this very unfortunate 18-months in which important assets were stripped from [Chiarello’s] Estate and separated from his [Michael’s] legacy.”

The lawsuit claims that the pressure applied to the Chiarello family by the aforementioned group of investors, led to “Bottega and its associated menus, concepts, custom furnishings, and recipes (among other assets)” being sold to Frank and Hansen, a company owned by two of the investors who allegedly “wrested control” away from the family estate.

Richard Frank is the former president of Disney Studios and founder of Napa winery Frank Family Vineyards. John Hansen is general manager of a hospitality business in Rome. Both have been minority investors in Bottega since the start, but the pair took full ownership of the business in June 2025.

“Given the devastating circumstances, I expected cooperation from these investors, especially considering that over the years Michael had treated them like family,” Chiarello’s widow Eileen Gordon told The New York Post.

“Yet the people he trusted took everything for themselves, depriving all other shareholders including Chef Chiarello’s children”.

According to court documents, there was an option for the Chiarello estate to claim ownership of Bottega, but Gordon claims the paperwork was withheld from her by the investors, and therefore the estate had no way of knowing. The inaction of the Chiarellos paved the way for the defendants to acquire Bottega.

Napa institution

Since its founding in 2008, Bottega has become a much-loved spot in Yountville, celebrated for its Italian-inspired cuisine with a Californian twist.

“Bottega has always authentically captured the heart and soul of Italian hospitality,” said Hansen in a press release announcing his co-ownership of the restaurant. “Great food shared with family and friends is the goal at my restaurants in Rome and at this remarkably unique place in Yountville. I’m delighted to continue supporting the culinary experience that Chiarello so passionately built.”

According to court papers, Frank allegedly held secret meetings at his home where he told restaurant staff to stop selling wines from The Chiarello Family Vineyards and replace them with wines from Frank Family Vineyards. Frank Henson had sold his winery to Treasury Wine Estates in 2021 for US$315 million, but his wife reportedly remains on the board of directors.

db can confirm that a Frank Family Chardonnay 2023 (US$20), a Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay 2023 (US$70), and a Frank Family Vineyards, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (US$99) are on the current Bottega wine list. There are no Chiarello Family Vineyards wines listed.

The lawsuit filed by the Chiarello estate claims that there has been a “malicious plan” to orchestrate “a hostile takeover” since Chef Chiarello died two years ago.

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