Eddie’s Pizza reached a settlement last month with a Commack restaurateur who allegedly appropriated the iconic New Hyde Park restaurant’s “Bar Pie” moniker.
“The pizza wars are over,” said Eddie’s Pizza owner Joseph DiVittorio. “They’re not going to use the name. They understand it’s a trademark.”
DiVittorio said the settlement included a letter of apology to him from Emilio Branchinelli, a restaurateur whose properties include Emilio’s Restaurant & Pizza in Commack. DiVittorio declined to say whether the settlement included a monetary component
The apology, DiVittorio said, was more important to him than money because Branchinelli had described Eddie’s Pizza as “a dump” in a news article about the “Bar Pie” dispute.
“The apology meant more than the financial settlement because of our reputation,” DiVittorio said.
In the brief letter, Branchinelli apoligized for “any negative comments” he made about the restaurant.
“I have never eaten at or visited your restaurant and had no basis to make any statements regarding the quality of your establishment,” Branchinelli wrote.
Branchinelli could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit settlement or the letter.
Attorneys Ronald Israel and Nancy Del Pizzo of New York City law firm Wolff & Samson filed a suit on behalf of DiVittorio in federal court in July over the use of the term “Bar Pie” by Branchinelli.
The popular New Hyde Park pizzeria restaurant has held a trademark on “Bar Pie” since the 1930s, DiVittorio said.
Bar Pie, he said, is the shorthand description for the small, thin-crust pizza that has long been a signature dish at Eddie’s Pizza located at 2048 Hillside Ave.
DiVittorio said he’s been “policing” the use of the “Bar Pie” name among restaurants and suppliers around the New York metro area.
“What’s annoying about it is, it’s our concept. It’s what we’ve based our life on,” DiVittorio said of the name given to his thin-crusted pie.
In the lawsuit filing, attorneys for Eddie’s Pizza said Branchinelli’s improper use of the “Bar Pie” and “Bar Pie Americano” term to describe its own pizzas was the second time in the past decade that he’d done so.
“Defendants’ use of the marks “Bar Pie” and “Bar Pie Americano” is so similar to plaintiff’s Bar Pie mark that it is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source or origin of Defendants’ goods,” the lawyers representing Eddie’s Pizza stated.
Use of the term, they said, could mislead consumers to think that Emilio’s bar pies are supplied by Eddie’s or that the product is licensed by or affiliated with the Garden City Park pizzeria in some way.
The filing states that Emilio’s attempted to apply the “Bar Pie” label to pizza from its restaurant in 2003. That elicited a cease-and-desist letter at the time, and Emilio’s removed the term from its exterior signage, the attorney’s for Eddie’s Pizza said.
But the attorneys said Eddie’s Pizza had recently learned that Emilio’s had started using “Bar Pie” again, along with “Bar Pie Americano” on exterior signage and online menus. So on December 8, 2011 another cease-and-desist letter was sent to Tutto Fresca Italian Food, LLC, the corporation for Emilio’s.
They said a second cease-and-desist letter was subsequently sent to Passione, a recent addition to the company’s restaurants in Carle Place. There was no response to that letter or a third letter sent by certified mail was returned to the plaintiff’s attorneys marked “refused,” Israel and Del Pizzo said.
In the lawsuit, Eddie’s Pizza called on the court to restrain owner Branchinelli’s restaurants from using the terms “Bar Pies” or “Bar Pies Americano” in any signage or promotion, or using any words, titles, designations or marks that would cause “a likelihood of injury to the business reputation” of Eddie’s Pizza.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
