BLT Restaurant Group LLC sued celebrity chef Laurent Tourondel, who developed its BLT Steak and BLT Burger restaurants, over claims he infringed its trademarks with his new burger place in New York’s Hamptons.
BLT Restaurant Group said in a complaint in federal court in Manhattan today that Tourondel and his partner, Michael Cinque, opened a restaurant in Sag Harbor in July that “mimics plaintiff’s well-known line of restaurants.”
Tourondel, formerly the chef of Cello in New York, worked for BLT Restaurant Group until February, according to the complaint. His new restaurant is called LT Burger in the Harbor. BLT Restaurant said it opened 18 restaurants from 2004 to 2009, including ones called BLT Fish and BLT Prime. Tourondel was responsible for developing the decor, menus and publicity for the restaurants, according to the complaint
“Tourondel used proprietary and confidential information in the creation, operation and promotion of LT Burger,” lawyers for BLT Restaurant said in the complaint.
BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel, according to the restaurant’s website.
The lawsuit alleges that the Sag Harbor restaurant’s menu copies BLT items such as its signature “spiked” milkshakes. BLT Burger offers its Grandma’s Treat milkshake with Maker’s Mark bourbon, caramel and vanilla ice cream, while LT Burger sells a shake containing the same ingredients called Daisy Dukes, at the same price of $11, according to the complaint.
Tourondel wasn’t immediately available for comment. Cinque, who owns Amagansett Wine & Spirits in East Hampton, New York, also wasn’t immediately available.
The case is BLT Restaurant Group LLC v. Laurent Tourondel, 10-6488, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: Don Jeffrey in New York at djeffrey1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net
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