Fortune, Mar 15, 2015 (I)

choi

Erika Fry, Cleavers at Ten Paces. The duels over the Benihana restaurant empire encompass nearly a decade, multiple continents, an inheritance feud between the children of the swashbuckling late founder, Rocky Aoki, and his third wife Keiko Ono Aoki, and a battle between a private equity firm and Ono. They could teach their chefs a thing or two about how to wield a knife.
fortune.com/2015/03/04/battle-over-benihana/

Quote:

"In truth, her late husband bears much of the responsibility. He [Rocky] was the one to divide his empire into separate entities with shared responsibility for the restaurant in Hawaii. That worked well enough when he was at the peak of his power but proved disastrous afterward. And Aoki was the one who repeatedly rewrote his will, sowing confusion and resentment. * * * Aoki died in 2008. He spent part of his ailing final years in depositions for the family litigation. He was firmly on Ono’s side. Here’s what he said about her and his kids (from two previous wives).

"In 1983 he [Rocky]separated his holdings to raise cash for expansion. Aoki’s original entity, Benihana of Tokyo, kept 39 restaurants, and the other 11 shifted into what would later be called Benihana Inc.  Aoki then sold 49.1% of Benihana Inc to the public and kept the rest inside his original company. (He tinkered more later: Although Benihana of Tokyo no longer owned US restaurants, Aoki carved out an exception for the rights to manage the Hawaiian restaurant because it was the most lucrative Benihana and he had a sentimental attachment to it.)

“Aoki’s death altered the balance of power between his children and Ono—in her favor. The trust that had given them control of Benihana of Tokyo was terminated when he died. That change meant Aoki’s kids were no longer trustees. Once the will went through probate in 2010, Ono became the sole trustee, and she appointed herself CEO of Benihana of Tokyo.


Note:
(a) "you could say the beef over the Beni Burger is when the fight got personal. The item was conceived by Keiko Ono Aoki 小野 恵子 [marriage with Rocky, 2002-2008], widow of the chain’s founder, Rocky Aoki. * * * Her company, Benihana of Tokyo, owns or franchises 18 restaurants from Europe to Asia * * * [Beni Burger] a burger—this one is topped with shrimp tempura and special sauce"
(i)
(A) History. Benihana of Tokyo, undated
www.benihana-of-tokyo.com/history.php
(a photo--date and location not disclosed [but ja.wikipedia.org said the first New York store was already named 'Benihana of Tokyo']--shows the name Benihana of Tokyo is not a recent invention)

Quote: "Hiroaki 'Rocky' Aoki was born on October 9, 1938 in Tokyo, Japan. He was the first born son of Yunosuke Aoki 青木 湯之助 [a onetime actor whose 芸名 had been 郷宏之], a samurai descendant and his wife Katsu Aoki. * * * Yunosuke met a talented chef, Fujisake, who inspired him to open a full service restaurant [in 1946 in Tokyo, whose name was レストラン紅花 (that is katakana for 'restutrant'), according to ja.wikipedia.org].

(B)
(ii) Hiroaki AOKI  青木 廣彰: (1938-2008; was undefeated in the wrestling 112-pound flyweight class (in US); Before his death, he had become a United States citizen)  en.wikipedia.org

(b) "Not so fast, countered Benihana Inc, a separate entity that owns 79 Benihanas in the US and South America * * * owned by investment firm Angelo Gordon"
(i) About Benihana. Benihana, Inc, undated
www.benihana.com/about/corporate-information/
("Founded by Rocky H Aoki in 1964, New York City; Corporate headquarters located in Miami, Florida; President and Chief Executive Officer Steven Shlemon [since 2014]")
(ii) "Benihana[, Inc] agreed in 2012 to be purchased by the private equity firm of Angelo Gordon & Company for $296 million."  en.wikipedia.org
(iii) Angelo, Gordon & Co (founded in 1988 by John Angelo and Michael Gordon; headquartersManhattan)  en.wikipedia.org

(c) "She [Ono] is attended by a lawyer and her Wheaten terrier, Mugi"
(i) Irish Wheaten terrier, originating in Ireland, is so named because they are "wheaten-colored terriers."
(ii) Mugi the dog--a Japanese website used "むぎ."

Japanese English dictionary
mugi  麦 【むぎ】 (n): "wheat; barley; oat"

(d) "His then-wife discovered the existence of his girlfriend and child at Aoki’s bedside in a Hawaiian hospital, where he was recuperating from 24 broken bones and other injuries he sustained in a powerboat accident in 1979. (Aoki divorced the wife, with whom he had three children; he then married the girlfriend, had two more kids with her, then divorced her too. His seventh child came from another nonmarital relationship.)"
(i) first wife Chizuru Kobayashi Aoki (小林 ちづる; marriage 1964-1981)
(ii) second wife Pamela Hilberger Aoki (marriage 1981-1991)

One can easily find her photos.

(e) "his own trademark look: Jheri curls, mustache, and a comely woman on his arm"

Jheri curl
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jheri_curl
(Invented by the hairdresser Jheri Redding)
(f) "A few months later the newlyweds met Aoki’s two eldest children, Kana and Kevin, for dinner"

Kana Grace Nootenboom (Rocky's first born) and Kevin Aoki (second born but eldest son), both from wife no 1. See Family. undated
www.rockyhaoki.com/family.html
(g) unpublished:
Erika Fry, 12 Incredible Things About Benihana Founder Rocky Aoki. Fortune.com, Mar 12, 2015.fortune.com/2015/03/12/12-incredible-things-about-benihana-founder/