MUSKEGON, Mich. — A partnership formed between a Muskegon distillery and a catering company late last year has fallen apart, with the dispute now being settled in a courtroom.
Kaja Thornton, the businesswoman behind Kaja's Flavor Packets and The "US" Cafe, has been bringing her Cajun-inspired offerings to the people of West Michigan for years now.
She and Burl & Sprig distillery in downtown Muskegon entered into a business agreement in December of 2022, in which her catering company, Cuisine by US, would provide food for their patrons.
Thornton was given a kitchen area for her staff and equipment inside their building, paying $7,000 a month to utilize the space.
Burl & Sprig is a craft cocktail bar— Cuisine by US would handle the food side of things.
The agreement seemed to be fruitful, until early April, when Thornton posted on Facebook saying, "We regret to inform you that our downtown location will be closed today due to unforeseen circumstances out of our control. If you called and were told that we didn't 'show up,' please disregard that."
"We would never not just 'show up' nor neglect our responsibility to serve you, our valued customers."
According to emails contained within court documents filed this week, the owner of Burl & Sprig officially terminated their agreement with Thornton on April 4.
"We were bringing two cultures together over food and fellowship, over good drink, what we thought, but we came to realize that we were pretty much baited into a bad business situation," Thornton told FOX 17 Friday.
"I felt insulted, I felt hurt, being that we brought our goodwill, brought our talents, our hospitality."
According to court documents, Burl & Sprig's locks were changed on April 4.
Thornton says she still has not been able to collect their equipment inside, nor their perishable inventory of food.
“To be locked out is just unlawful, and unwarranted, and we just won't stand for it,” she said after a court hearing Friday morning.
Thornton filed a request in Muskegon Circuit Court this week, asking the court to issue an order regarding their items still inside the building, and seeking damages due to lost income.
A legal response filed by attorneys for Burl and Sprig said that their business "began to experience numerous problems, including KF's (Kaja) staff taking tips earned by West Michigan Rum (Burl and Sprig's parent company), mistreatment of staff and guests, numerous health code violations, a failure to pay a security deposit and rent in addition to causing a risk of fire."
Thornton denies those allegations.
FOX 17 did speak to Burl & Sprig's owner, Cody Wasilchenko, about the situation briefly on Friday.
Despite the ongoing back-and-forth, he has positive feelings toward Thornton.
"Burl & Sprig has always been a strong supporter of the City of Muskegon and the greater Muskegon Area. We are also big fans of Kaja Thornton as a business leader, and for her amazing cuisine. Unfortunately, the long-term partnership we envisioned was not achieved."
Regarding the court hearing Friday morning, he said in part, "The dispute between Burl & Sprig and Kaja’s Flavor is a simple business dispute which is governed by a written agreement between the parties. Burl & Sprig has abided by the terms of the written agreement. The company is defending itself and believes that the court will ultimately determine that Kaja’s Flavor breached the agreement and Burl & Sprig was justified in the actions it took.
Finally, Burl & Sprig believes that its investment in Muskegon should speak for itself. Over the years we have supported numerous community projects. Burl & Sprig is proud of the work we have done in Muskegon and looks forward to continuing those efforts."
Muskegon County Circuit Court Judge Matthew R. Kacel oversaw Friday's hearing and plans to issue an order in the case soon.
