Operator: Battle over Edgewood Bakery not over

Operator compares fight with Jaguars' owner Khan to David and Goliath battle

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The operator of the Edgewood Bakery, who's engaged in a legal battle with Shad Khan over the bakery's ownership, said Thursday's ruling by a judge in favor of Khan doesn't spell victory for the billionaire quite yet.

Carol Rykalsky and her husband took out an $800,000 loan from Stache Investments following Jacksonville's One Spark to grow their business. In September, they said they learned Khan was seeking majority ownership of the bakery.
 
Rykalsky compared the legal battle with the Jaguars' owner to that of David and Goliath. She said she's willing to take the fight all the way to trial but still wonders why Khan wants the bakery so badly.
 
"This affects every minute of my day, but for him, it's like a dime falling out of his pocket," Rykalsky said. "I don't' understand. I don't understand what he wants."
 
Rykalsky said she put her trust in Khan to help her grow the Edgewood Bakery, and their signature Veggie Muffins which are a healthy option for schools. But Thursday, in a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled he found Stache Investments owns more than half of the business, saying he's going to appoint a receiver to oversee financial dealing of the bakery until trial.
 
"The whole thing is devastating," Rykalsky said. "We went into One Spark thinking we were going to get help, and then all of sudden the help turned into, 'I want to take it all away. I want it for myself.'"
 
Stache Investments didn't' respond to a News4Jax request for comment Friday, but issued this statement last month, saying in part: "Mr. Rykalsky took exclusive control of the bakery's operations, with the result today that the bakery's future appears to be in serious jeopardy. Mr. Khan regrets needing to take this step and will trust the legal system to take it from here and arrive at an appropriate resolution."
 
Rykalsky said no matter what happens, she wants her customers to know the bakery's open and all orders will be fulfilled no matter what the future holds. She said this case is headed to trial, and she already owes tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills.
 
"Khan could pay the top attorneys for the rest of their lives, the top salaries, every single hour and it wouldn't affect his budget or his life," Rykalsky said. "But for us, for this bakery, every telephone call affects our life."
 
The judge will decide next Friday who the receiver of the bakery will be and what that person's scope of responsibilities will be. Rykalsky anticipates this case will go to trial in April or May.  


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Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.