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Nice Try, Trader Darwin: Gristedes Sued for TJs Ripoff
By
Billy Parker
Published Jan 10, 2009
Modified Jan 10, 2009
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By
Billy Parker
Published Jan 10, 2009
Modified Jan 10, 2009
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It's not uncommon to hear New Yorkers complaining about how overwhelmed they are by the lines at the Union Square Trader Joe's that most hours of the day tend to snake through the store—often leading to a journey just to find where the end of it is. So passers-by on 14th Street must be feeling relieved now that they've spotted a "Trader John's" moving in just down the street in the space that a regular old Gristedes had been, right? Not so fast.
It turns out that the Trader John's scheduled to open next week is not a cheeky extension dedicated to Trader Joe's household cleaning products, but is actually an attempt by Gristedes to open their own discount grocery store with a quirky, nautical decor. Shockingly, Trader Joe's already has issued a cease and desist letter to the store and now is filing a lawsuit in a Manhattan court. The complaint says that Trader John's is a “blatant attempt to confuse consumers and capitalize on Trader Joe’s hard-earned goodwill.”
Since Trader Joe's always tries to maintain its image as a grocery store of the people, where else would you expect them to turn for testimonials to include in their case other than the blogosphere? Included are quotes from the blogs referring to the Trader John's location as "one of the filthiest of all the filthy, overpriced Gristedes" and another saying, "LOL . . . Reminds me of the Simpsons episode when their [sic] TV breaks and they are looking to replace it with a cheap knock off brand, such as Sorny or Panaphonics or Magnetbox." Case dismissed!
Gristedes owner (and potential mayoral candidate) John Catsimatidis seems to have a strong defense prepared for the case. He told Bloomberg News, “My name is John and I am a trader so I don’t know what their problem is.”
Tagged
grocery store
john catsimatidis
lawsuit
trader joe's
treader john's
union square
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