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Forge Restaurant Becomes "Marc Forgione," Averting Lawsuit and Bloodshed
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 10, 2009
Modified Feb 10, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 10, 2009
Modified Feb 10, 2009
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When edgy chef Marc Forgione (pictured) opened up his urban-rustic restaurant last summer in a former TriBeCa dairy warehouse, he decided to call the place Forge, after his nickname. But, oopsy, there's already a Forge restaurant in Miami Beach, and in due time owner Shareef Malnik accused Forgione of trademark infringement. So this month he re-christened his place "Marc Forgione" to avoid a costly lawsuit and spare potential customers the confusion of getting lost in Florida on their way to his restaurant.
At a party last night to, uh, celebrate the name change, friends and hangers-on feasted on charcuterie, imported Italian cheese, and dreams of vengeance; Forgione—who sports a timeless, unspiked mohawk—shared his fantasy about "sitting in some empty bar near closing time, looking down toward the other end, and spotting him.Then they lock the doors for me." The "him" in that sentence would be Malnik, and considering what some guests whispered about his ties to the "Jewish mafia," Forgione might want to make sure there's a revolver planted in the men's room. Of course his father, chef Larry Forgione, is hailed as "the Godfather of American cuisine," so he's probably not afraid to get some brains blown all over his nice Ivy League suit.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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