PR Newswire:
On Monday, AKL Food Service, LLC filed suit against Tony Luke, Inc. and other entities and individuals in the Monmouth County Superior Court of New Jersey, alleging that the defendants improperly represented a Tony Luke’s franchise opportunity.
Tony Luke’s is a popular Philadelphia cheese steak restaurant chain, with company-owned locations in Citizen’s Bank Ball Park, home to the Philadelphia Phillies, downtown Philadelphia and Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel & Casino.
According to the complaint, in 2005, Tony Luke’s induced AKL’s managing member, Anastasios Linardos, into purchasing the rights to open and operate New Jersey’s first Tony Luke’s franchises by grossly understating start-up and operational costs, artificially inflating sales projections and making unlawful earnings claims. The complaint further alleges that the defendants failed to provide AKL with the mandatory Federal Disclosure Document required by the Federal Trade Commission in connection with the sale of any franchise opportunity.