Arman DeLorenz
Arman DeLorenz (born 1940) is a chef and restauranteur.
Before moving to Birmingham, DeLorenz trained in Switzerland and worked as a chef on the Queen Elizabeth. He was brought to the city by the Kimberly Group to work at Christian's in the Tutwiler Hotel. He opened his first area restaurant, Arman's at Park Lane, in 1994 in English Village, but sold his share to his fellow investors two years later.
He then invested in the opening of Mezzanine in Tuscaloosa, but was bought out shortly after that restaurant opened. He then opened a smaller restaurant upstairs from Barrett's Brewpub and Eatery which closed along with the pub shortly thereafter. He moved a few doors down and opened Arman's in Tuscaloosa, followed shortly by Arman's Coyote Cafe, both of which he later sold to Tres Jackson.
At one point DeLorenz operated numerous restaurants in Birmingham, including Brazil, Chef DeLorenz, Prairie Fire Grille, Crepes Egg-Setera, Original Joe's and Nonna Rose. He lost control of them all in a 2005 bankruptcy filing, in which he reported $3.6 million in debts.
He subsequently moved to Anniston and opened Classic on Noble with his son Demian, and Effina's Tuscan Grill in Jacksonville, Florida with his younger son Sebastian. He also worked as the executive chef for the Capstone Club in Brookwood.
In the Summer of 2010 DeLorenz began working alongside Demian at FishLips Seafood Grill.
In December of that year he was arrested in Shelby County and charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.
References
- Nicholson, Gilbert (September 30, 2001) "Arman wants a restaurant at The Summit." Birmingham Business Journal
- Carlton, Bob (July 18, 2010) "Arman DeLorenz fends off boredom aiding new eatery in Hoover." Birmingham News
- Daniels, Malcomb (December 30, 2010) "Well-known Birmingham restaurateur charged with DUI, possession, leaving the scene." Birmingham News