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Is This Williamsburg Cafe Biting An Upstate Coffeeshop's Style?
By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 24, 2014
Modified Sep 24, 2014
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By
Nell Casey
Published Sep 24, 2014
Modified Sep 24, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
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An upstate java purveyor says it's being ripped off by a Williamsburg cafe operating with a very similar aesthetic and has decided to take the alleged poseur to court to stop it. Swallow espresso & coffee, which operates in the town of Hudson, NY, has sued Swallow Cafe, which operates two East Williamsburg outposts, for allegedly stealing its name and business model, according to the Post. Hudson: putting a bird on it before it was cool.
According to the lawsuit filed by the upstate cafe's owner Sarah Dibben, "consumers experience actual confusion as a result of Defendant’s appropriation of Defendant’s trade name." Despite the cafes being over 100 miles from each other, Dibben says visitors to her cafe have repeatedly asked if the two similarly named cafes in Brooklyn are offshoots of her upstate coffee shop. And here we thought everyone was just dying to be associated with the Brooklyn brand.
The suit does point to the Hudson Valley's NYC hipster influx as further evidence that the Brooklyn cafes are trying to cash in on the trendy town's cachet. "Hudson has been referred to in numerous publications, including the New York Times, as 'The New Brooklyn' and 'Brooklyn on the Hudson,'" the suit brags. Pipe down, Hudson; you're still not that cool.
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Nell Casey
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