What”™s in a name? For a Puerto Rican restaurant with two locations in Westchester County, the answer is litigation.
The owners of Don Coqui, which has locations in New Rochelle and White Plains as well as the Bronx, filed suit in federal court last year against Eleftheria Rest Corp., which operates a restaurant under the Don Coqui name in Astoria, Queens, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition.
According to the complaint, Privado Marketing Group L.L.C. and two other entities that own and operate Don Coqui”™s Bronx and Westchester locations allowed the owners of the Queens restaurant to use the Don Coqui name but later revoked that permission when the Queens restaurant failed to maintain consistency with the messaging, service, menu offerings and pricing of the Bronx and Westchester restaurants. The suit was filed after the Queens restaurant continued to use the logo following several requests by Privado and its attorneys to cease and desist.
“Their use of the name ‘Don Coqui’ has caused ongoing damages to its reputation and the value of the restaurants,” said Don Coqui owner Jimmy Rodriguez in an Aug. 1 press release. “I look forward to the day when those damages will be addressed. The concept of Don Coqui is the result of my years in the restaurant business and a legacy to my children, and our patrons can only find the real Don Coqui restaurants online via doncoqui.tv, and not doncoqui.com.”
The complaint claims the Don Coqui restaurant in Queens locked Rodriguez and the group that owns the Westchester and Bronx restaurants out of the doncoqui.com Web domain.
In response, Eleftheria Restaurant Corp. filed a countersuit against Privado and the other entities arguing the Don Coqui trademarks had been abandoned by the owners of the Westchester and Bronx restaurants, and that the registration of the Don Coqui trademark was fraudulent and should be cancelled. The countersuit was dismissed July 7 after the court ruled Eleftheria had not stated enough facts to make a plausible legal claim. The countersuit, amended with specific facts, was re-filed July 28.
The Don Coqui restaurants in Westchester County and the Bronx are family restaurants serving Puerto Rican cuisine. The restaurants were started by Jimmy Rodriguez, and his children Jaleene, Jewelle and Jimmy Jr. are all involved in the restaurant operations. Don Coqui in Astoria also serves Puerto Rican cuisine.
The case is pending before Judge Edgardo Ramos in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
