News

Local business owners warn others of consulting firm that took $250K

Published May 2, 2018 8:44 PM

A local couple says they have lost a quarter of a million dollars to a former business consultant and to make matters worse, they say that consultant then opened a similar business in the same spot they had closed down shop.

Jackie and Chris Oppenheimer, the owners of CJ’s Mongolian Grill in Indio and La Quinta, were new to the restaurant business.

“Thought here’s no Mongolian BBQ out here in the desert so let’s see what we can find out to get one open,” Chris said.

The Oppenheimer did their research and found a consulting firm online. They signed a consultant agreement with the ‘987 Restaraunt’ group to open CJ’s and entered into a payment schedule, but about halfway through.

“We gave them a check for the restaurant equipment that they were going to purchase at a reduced rate. The check was cashed. The equipment never arrived,” Chris said.

The firm also stopped showing up for other obligations, like supervising construction and staff training.

“We wound up having to repurchase all of our equipment at our own expense,” Chris said.

The Oppenheimers ended up finishing it all themselves.

“Financially? Close to a quarter of a million right now. So, we’re dealing with a huge loss.” Jackie said.

They ended up suing the firm for breach of contract but when the Oppenheimers won the lawsuit, the consulting firm bankrupted the company.

The Oppenheimers ended up closing the La Quinta location for underperforming, leaving it turn-key ready per their lease agreement. A new Mongolian BBQ restaurant opened up in the same location, opening under a different LLC, by people connected to the consulting firm.