Now that Starbucks has successfully conquered Manhattan and colonized Williamsburg, it's ready to vanquish any small business that gets in its way. The corporation has enlisted a squadron of lawyers to take down a small Queens pizzeria, which appears to have been selling Starbucks coffee in a manner that infringes on the franchise's copyrights.
Those big-time lawyers took the time to put together a 175-page lawsuit, filed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court, which alleges that the Flushing-based Phil & Sons Restaurant & Pizzeria has been advertising that it sells Starbucks coffee and is serving the coffee in cups with the Starbucks siren logo. The valiant attorneys sent two cease and desist orders last fall, and also sent someone to visit the pizza joint in February, where that brave voyager discovered that the high-stakes scam was still underway.
The suit includes evidential pictures taken during that visit, showing paper coffee cups with the Starbucks logo; a sign in the window that advertises Starbucks coffee; a paper printout of "Starbucks coffee" beverages above the espresso machine; and several bags of Starbucks grounds sitting atop the machine. Damning stuff, though it's not clear why anyone would go to the trouble of advertising Starbucks coffee in their establishment in the first place, given that the stuff tastes more like twice-burnt, watered-down tar than actual coffee.
Starbucks is now offering a "prayer for relief," according to the suit, and demanding that Phil & Sons write a check for all the profits they've accrued from selling Starbucks coffee. The franchise is also suing for four counts of damages.
In 2014, Starbucks similarly muscled up against a small California cafe that was using the Starbucks logo on some items and dressing its employees in Starbucks-green aprons. Starbucks wound up winning over a million dollars in damages in that suit, and it appears that the deviant cafe in question, Café Nu, is no longer in business.
Phil & Sons declined to comment when reached by phone today. But their Flushing location is open for business today, and serving some delicious-looking pizza. The incriminating Starbucks items aren't on their online menu, but a pie goes for $24, so order up—they might need the funds.
