Chodorow sells Morgans Hotel restaurants stake for $20M

Restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow has struck a deal to sell a 50 percent stake in several of his eateries to Ian Schrager’s Morgans Hotel Group for $20 million. The restaurants included in the deal had been joint ventures of Chodorow and Morgans. They include spots at the Delano and Mondrian South Beach, as well as in the Mondrian Los Angeles, Morgans Hotel, Sanderson and St. Martin’s Lane. As part of the deal, Morgans will also take over the Asia de Cuba brand, which Chodorow’s China Grill Management originally opened in the Morgans Hotel in 1997 in partnership with Schrager. Morgans said it will attempt to expand the Asia de Cuba brand globally in the coming years. “CGM has had a successful and profitable partnership with MHG for many years, but we both felt it was time to reassess our brand strategies, taking both in a new direction,” Chodorow said. [SFBJ]