Oded Brenner, a co-founder of the Max Brenner chocolate empire, is the secret force behind a new batch of coffee and bakery shops even though he’s not allowed to use his name or likeness, Side Dish has learned.
Brenner, who along with business partner Max Fichtman founded the Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man concept, can be spotted at his three stores, Koffeecake Corner Coffee Bakery, at 301 W. 17th St., 1269 Lexington Ave. and 775 Sixth Ave.
He’s scouting locations to open a fourth store on the Upper West Side, with six more to open over the next two years, a source said.
Brenner bought out Fichtman and in 2001 sold the chain to a company now owned by the Strauss Group, which hired Brenner as a consultant to build the brand.
But last year, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled Brenner had broken his non-compete and confidentiality agreements when he opened Little Brown Chocolate Bakery & Coffee.
That bakery on the Upper East Side is now Koffeecake Corner. Brenner can often be spotted there and at his other locations, where a chocolate machine drizzles different types of chocolate onto fresh baked goods, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and fruit.
Brenner — who apprenticed with Fauchon in Paris and studied under top Parisian chocolatiers for six years — is not allowed to tell his patrons that he is the Brenner behind Max Brenner.
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