A simmering blood feud between the brothers of La Grenouille has gotten hotter than a crepe flambe, with current boss Philippe Masson claiming his sibling is a racist bully hated by the famed eatery’s staff.
Former boss Charles Masson accused his younger brother of mismanaging the legendary restaurant and using it as a “personal ATM.”
He’s asked Manhattan Surrogate Court judge Nora Anderson to oust Philippe as executor of their mother Gisele’s estate and hand him back the reins of the family business.
But Charles is just having a temper tantrum because he is no longer in charge, Philippe fired back in his own court papers filed last week.
Charles’ only goal is to get control of La Grenouille so he can sell it, and the $40 million East 52nd St building which houses it, Philippe claims.
La Grenouille repeatedly teetered on the brink of bankruptcy under Charles’ management, Philippe claimed.
“The only reason the restaurant still exists is Philippe’s effectiveness and skill in operating it,” said his lawyer, Lawrence Hutcher.
Charles also terrorized the 60 or so employees, Philippe maintains.
“Charles should not be named executor since he is unstable, incompetent, and a racist,” Philippe alleged.
He regularly raged at workers over “any perceived slight or mistake,” Philippe claims, alleging he kicked a waiter in the leg, threw eggs at a delivery truck, and drew racist and sexist caricatures of employees to humiliate them.
“Many customers of La Grenouille refused to come back because of one of Charles’s eruptions,” a longtime employee claimed in an affidavit.
The fabled, flower-filled favorite even shut down Saturday dinner service for several months about 15 years ago, allegedly because Charles wanted to keep away Jewish diners — whom he declared were “always complaining and cheap,” according to court papers.
The celebrated Midtown East eatery, opened in 1962 by matriarch Gisele Masson, once attracted the brightest luminaries, from Laurence Olivier, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor to Frank Sinatra, Madonna and Yves Saint Laurent.
Charles harangued their mother in the years before her death because she refused his “fire sale” offers of $3.46 million to buy the businesses from her, Philippe charges.
He even cut off payments for her health insurance, and once refused to allow her to see his young daughter, breaking their mother’s heart, Philippe Masson claims.
Charles, 63, then accused Philippe of incompetence, and said his brother charged personal expenses to their mother’s estate, including a New York Athletic Club membership — but Philippe, 57, says it was his brother who was the financial failure.
Charles Masson did not respond to messages, but Philippe said his brother’s behavior is what prompted their mom to give him control of the business.
“It is truly unfortunate that this family has been torn apart by Charles’ actions and malevolent conduct,” Philippe stated.