It’s a mess, a spiraling, juvenile, violent mess. If this were the South, we’d probably have a shooting by now.
If you haven’t heard, there’s been corporate fisticuffs by boys with guns and too much time on their hands. You can watch the May 2 incident in a disturbing video posted on YouTube.
In a classic he-said, he-said stalemate, there’s local businessman Mo Honarker on one side and investor group Continuum Analytics on the other. The short version of this story: money, divorce and more money.
It’s complicated but basically, it started back in 2021 when Honarker was in a financial bind over a $140 million debt obligation, according to court documents. With loan payments due, along with a hefty $17.5 million payout to his ex-wife, he needed help.
He approached Nano Banc in Irvine, which he had done business with previously, but they referred him to Mahender Makhijani, owner of Continuum, a Newport Beach investment company that focuses on distressed real estate assets.
They struck a deal in May 2021, but the relationship immediately soured. Over the next two years, there were multiple financial disputes, allegations of fraud and subsequent retaliation.
It culminated in the very public fight at Hotel Laguna and 14 West Boutique Hotel.
Now, there’s at least one lawsuit filed by Honarker alleging a laundry list of improprieties. An Orange County Superior Court judge also issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Honarkar and his team from going into the hotels at least until a May 30 hearing.
Meanwhile, after temporarily closing the properties, the City of Laguna Beach has told both sides to behave – and no more guns.
Oy vey.
One wonders how all of these shenanigans will impact the public reputation of the hotel. Previously, this bad business was kept behind the scenes, as it should. Now, not so much.
As an aside, when Hotel Laguna reopened to great fanfare in 2021, the restaurant offered a cocktail called, “Oh So You Fancy Huh. Like, 007 Fancy.” Seriously, that was the name.
It was $35.
With its exorbitant price, its reference to the ever-packing James Bond, who knew that the drink would portend the hotel’s intrigue and danger.
Sadly, if life imitates art, we might not want to see the reboot.
