My Neighbor Felix attempts to shut down ex-manager's restaurant, Alma Fonda Fina

A new restaurant enjoying rapid success and glowing reviews is now facing direct strife with a neighbor half-a-mile down the street.

My Neighbor Félix — a casual Mexican restaurant nestled in Denver's Lower Highland (LoHi) neighborhood that has been enjoying success since its opening in 2020 — is suing a new-kid-on-the-block Mexican restaurant attempting to gain its footing in the area due to an alleged breach of a non-compete agreement by a former manager.

Kasie Curiel, co-owner of new restaurant Alma Fonda Fina, was an executive general manager of My Neighbor Félix from 2020 until April of 2023. During her employment, she signed a non-compete agreement with the company, acknowledging that she could not start a similar restaurant within a five-mile radius of My Neighbor Félix for two years after her departure from the company.

Alma Fonda Fina, which opened on Dec. 8, 2023, is located at 2556 15th Street, just .4 miles from My Neighbor Félix at 1801 Central Street.

My Neighbor Félix owner Francois Safieddine, founder and CEO of the restaurant chain's umbrella owner Lotus Concepts, sued Curiel and Alma Fonda Fina on March 11. The complaint requests a temporary restraining order that, if approved, would shut down the restaurant for an unknown period of time, according to the lawsuit filed in Denver District Court. 

Mexican restaurant owners spar in court documents

“We are extremely disappointed that My Neighbor Félix has filed a lawsuit to try and shut down Alma Fonda Fina," Owners Kasie and Johnny Curiel said in a statement to The Denver Gazette. "We believe the suit is entirely without merit and we will aggressively defend against the claims."

In the complaint, the plaintiff's attorneys claim that Curiel knowingly breached the agreement that said a former employee could not start a business that falls into the category of "any full-service casual Mexican dining restaurant or restaurant whose menu primarily features craft Mexican cocktails, locally sourced ingredients and that derives 40% or more of its gross sales from the sale of alcohol," according to the non-compete agreement.

In a response filed by Curiel and her attorneys Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti LLP, the defendants claim that the restaurant is within the category of fine dining, not casual dining. They also noted that the restaurant often requires reservations, has higher prices than My Neighbor Félix and does not derive 40% of its gross sales from alcohol. 

"Alma does not directly compete with My Neighbor Félix. My Neighbor Félix is a casual, large-concept Mexican restaurant with an emphasis on the sale of alcohol," the defense said in the response letter, stating that My Neighbor Félix relies on some pre-made, frozen food items while Alma Fonda Fina uses fresh ingredients in their small, seasonal menu.

Curiel also noted that the restaurant can only seat 36 guests, compared to the competitor's 224 seats, meaning that even at full-capacity, the small restaurant is not hammering a significant chink in Félix's armor.  

The response was called "misleading at best and duplicitous at worst," by the plaintiff's response, adding that the overall determination boils down to whether Alma Fonda Fina is described as fine dining or casual, the latter of which would impede with My Neighbor Félix — regardless of size and food options.

The response also noted that Alma Fonda Fina is "clearly not a fine dining restaurant." To back this, the attorneys noted that its staff wears t-shirts and shows their tattoos.

"The restaurant also contains an open chef table in the middle of the restaurant that shows guests both clean and dirty work stations, spreads noise and shares cooking fumes throughout — surely not a bad thing, but not 'fine dining,'" the My Neighbor Félix filing asserted.

The restaurant is also listed on Google as "casual" and "comfort food" instead of "fine dining," according to the response.

My Neighbor Félix operator, Lotus Concepts Management, told The Denver Gazette on Tuesday that they were "disappointed that recent legal issues are being aired through the media." There are also My Neighbor Félix restaurants in Centennial, Boulder and Colorado Springs.

"After resigning from Lotus Concepts — she was not fired as previously reported — (Curiel) chose to open a restaurant that violated her non-compete," a spokesperson with the company said. "Were she to open a different kind of restaurant, or one outside of the five mile radius outlined in her non-compete, we would be excited and supportive of her venture."

Curiel also filed a request to remove My Neighbor Félix's attorneys, Springer & Steinberg P.C., from the case. 

Springer & Steinberg P.C. represented Curiel during a divorce, which occurred around the time Curiel left her managerial role and started her new business. The law firm then allegedly turned around and started the case against Curiel. 

Curiel and her attorneys argued that the law firm may use "confidential information obtained" during her divorce suit against her in the current case.

"Furthermore, the evidence suggests that My Neighbor Félix first learned about Curiel’s new restaurant through information that Curiel provided Springer & Steinberg for purposes of legal representation," the request from Curiel's attorneys said.

The law firm officially dropped off the case on Monday. My Neighbor Felix is attempting to reset a hearing scheduled for Friday.

Customer backlash

Alma Fonda Fina has already become a fan-favorite in the area. The restaurant, only open for a four months, has garnered five stars on Google with more than 140 reviews.

A Reddit post on the DenverFood subreddit amassed over 200 comments on Saturday, launching the idea of boycotting My Neighbor Félix as a way to support the new restaurant.

"Hopefully the non-compete is unenforceable," user Bascule said. "Turns out Félix is a bad neighbor!"

"I've eaten there once, that's pretty much the reason I won't go a second time," another user, RodPalmer18, said.

If the lawsuit leads to the restaurant being shut down, though, Curiel and her attorneys said the impact would be severe.

"Our servers, who depend on nightly tips to earn a living, would be forced to seek other employment," the defense said in the initial response. "Kitchen staff would also quit if weekly paychecks were to stop. If the injunction were eventually lifted it is doubtful that we would be able to re-hire our staff, as most will have moved on to new positions in the restaurant industry."

And with a following of over 9,500 people on Instagram and tons of rave reviews, customers would seemingly miss the new addition to the LoHi neighborhood. 

The Denver Gazette's digital producer Jonathan Ingraham contributed to this report