A mother’s bequest has created a short menu of options for two family factions fighting over a Greek diner in Thornwood.
Last year, the Stefanopoulos faction sued to ban the Thanos faction from the Thornwood Coach Diner and recover $100,000 allegedly stolen from the business.
This month, the Thanos faction petitioned Westchester Supreme Court to dissolve the business and liquidate the assets.
“The type of intense discord that has developed,” the Thanos petition states, “has created such disruption and deadlock that efficient management by the shareholders, directors and officers is impossible, with no chance of repair or resurrection of any positive business relationship.”
Thornwood Coach Diner on Kensico Road has been a mainstay in the community for 50-some years. In 2018, NCS Kensico Inc. bought the business.
Originally, ownership was divided equally between Stefan Stefanopoulos, Cristos Thanos and their mother-in-law, Dina Rentoulis.
Dina Rentoulis died in 2021 and her one-third interest in NCS was bequeathed to her daughters, Tammy and Christina.
Tammy is married to Cristos Thanos’ brother, Ari. Christina is married to Stefan Stefanopoulos. The resulting combination left the two families with a 50-50 share of the business.
Stefan sued Tammy, Ari and Cristos Thanos a year ago.
Stefanopoulos claims that the Thanos faction demanded that their shares be bought out, and when a price could not be agreed on, they disrupted business.
The Thanoses allegedly stole food, according to the complaint, fired a manager, intentionally bumped into staff in the kitchen, sat in reserved seats in the dining areas, screamed in the dining room in the presence of customers, and more, “chasing customers away and making it difficult to operate,” to coerce a buyout.
In January 2022, Cristos Thanos allegedly withdrew $100,000 from a corporate checking account without permission, and has refused to return the money.
According to the Thanos petition, the Stefanopoulos faction “abrogated to themselves the total control of the operations and excluded the Thanoses from “any chance of receiving their rightful portion of the corporate profits.”
If they could, according to the petition, the Thanoses would fire the Stefanopouloses and bar them from the premises.
But with no way to break a tie, they argue, the court should appoint a temporary receiver to handle the affairs of the corporation until it can be dissolved and the assets liquidated.
The Stefanopoulos faction is represented by Hawthorne attorney Mark A. Rubeo Jr. The Thanos faction is represented by White Plains attorney Wayne H. Spector.
