Rachel’s Mediterranean sued by construction company, latest in string of suits

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Rachel’s Mediterranean Grill, the popular local chain with nearly a dozen locations across Western New York, is being sued by a Cheektowaga construction company that claims Rachel’s did not make payments for work the company performed.

The suit, filed on Aug. 5 in Erie County Supreme Court, accuses the owners of not paying for work totaling $283,392 that began in November 2023 at five of Rachel’s 11 locations across Erie County. The work was done by Lamparelli’s Construction Company. The five locations the company worked at include two in Buffalo and one each in Amherst, Getzville and Williamsville.

The filing is the latest in a string of lawsuits against the fast-growing restaurant chain since December 2022, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to various companies in Western and Central New York in unpaid debts. That includes construction costs, not paying rent at a location in Syracuse, and unpaid advertising dollars.

For example, in 2023 owner Joseph Khoury was ordered to pay Unique Development Companies of Syracuse over $120,000 in unpaid construction costs. It was one of two suits filed in Syracuse: Rachel’s opened a new location at the Destiny USA mall in Syracuse in September 2023, but was sued in December 2023 by the Carousel Center Company, the owner of the mall, claiming that Rachel’s owed over $200,000 in past due rent.

In April of this year, Rachel’s abruptly closed the Destiny USA location as well as a location in the Syracuse suburb of Camillus. The company also has a location in Rochester.

Back in Western New York, Rachel’s has also been sued twice by media companies with local affiliates over unpaid advertising costs. In one of the cases, Rachel’s was ordered to pay broadcasting company Scripps over $15,000 worth of unpaid advertising costs and other fees. They were also sued by Audacy New York for over $25,000 in a case that remains active.

Finally, in April 2023 Rachel’s was ordered to pay more than $6,000 to a Buffalo-based fire and security company for goods and merchandise. They made the payment in March of this year.

WIVB News 4 has reached out to Rachel’s for comment and will update if they reply.

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here .