Hear that noise? It’s the sound of frantic grovelling as the wife tries to save a business empire from the consequences of her husband’s anti-Semitism.
As it’s been my great pleasure to report, fancy restaurant owner, Lebanese Australian Al Yazbek, has had a sharp lesson in fucking around and finding out. Yazbek was exposed, and eventually arrested for, proudly brandishing anti-Semitic and terror-supporting signs at a ‘pro-Palestine’ protest. It also emerged that Yazbek had previously planned to attack a Jewish gathering with water bombs.
Not the smartest move when you own a posh restaurant in Sydney’s Jewish heartland. Within days, Yazbek’s Nomad restaurant empire was hit with mass cancellations, loss of corporate sponsorships, and key staff departures.
FAFO, baby.
In the meantime, Yazbek’s wife Rebecca has gone from making grovelling public apologies to personally beseeching former patrons to consider a return to Nomad and its tanking venues across Sydney and Melbourne.
Aggrieved diners cut off the restaurants when her husband attended a pro-Palestine rally and brandished a Nazi swastika on a placard styled as the Israeli flag, behaviour that has never been known to improve the profitability of any business.
He pleaded guilty to a police charge over the October incident and is now ticking every conceivable check-box to try pay down his rehabilitative debts.
Except, as my mum used to say, ‘Try and at least sound like you mean it.’
This would include a hard detour overseas for an obligatory stint at an ashram in India, a detail which Nomad Group actually publicised in a press release earlier this month, as though visions of Yazbek sitting cross-legged in the lotus position would somehow draw back the crowds to their eateries.
But, showing the customary bravery of the ‘pro-Palestinian’ mob, Al Yazbek has scuttled off into a metaphorical tunnel and left his wife to take the bullets.
On Monday, Rebecca attended to the task of writing to former clients, telling one of them that much work was under way to revive the brand and return it to good health.
“Taking charge now as sole owner, I look forward to returning to what we do best,” Yazbek wrote in an email obtained by this column. “My team and I hope with time, (sic) you may consider dining in my restaurants again.”
Is she the ‘sole owner’, though? As it happens, no. Turns out ol’ Al is still a shareholder.
Yazbek responded by saying her financial adviser, Anthony Bell, was “looking at options for me to sell his (Alan’s) shares”, which undercut her own claim to being the sole owner of the business, and which she then clarified.
“So I will be the sole owner or will relinquish part of the ownership of my company to a new shareholder,” she said. “Until the details can be worked through, he is no longer a director and will not be a shareholder as soon as practicable.”
Ah, but that’s not quite correct either! Documents on file with the corporate regulator show Alan Yazbek is still a director of Edition Hospitality – as Nomad has come to call itself – and remains its company secretary.
OK, you could say that the business is in the process of restructuring: so, why not say that, instead of saying that it’s already accomplished?
Also oozing sincerity is this gem:
Yazbek also suggested some unexpected rehabilitation was being undertaken by her husband. “He is meeting with our friend’s rabbi weekly now and is hoping to meet with Jewish associations and will continue to try and meet with the Jewish community,” she said.
Doesn’t sound like these organisations are in any rush to help him save his bacon, if you get what we mean.
And the name of the rabbi for us to verify this detail? A spokesman wasn’t able to provide it.
Maybe they’ll put matzah balls and potato latkes on the menu next.
