I’ll See Your Lobster Roll in Court!

Published on Thursday, June 28, 2007, by Lessley Anderson / Edit Post

Several weeks back, our etiquette columnist reported that Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar in NYC’s West Village, was hoppin’ mad at her former sous-chef Ed McFarland for supposedly stealing Charles’ mom’s Caesar salad recipe and putting it on the menu at his Ed’s Lobster Bar in SoHo.

Now Charles is suing McFarland for allegedly ripping off this and other features from Pearl, reports the New York Times. Among the reputedly purloined concepts: “the white marble bar, the gray paint on the wainscoting,” and even—gasp!—the same oyster crackers “placed at each table setting.”

The majority of blogs begrudgingly sided with McFarland, who held a press conference to deny Charles’ claims.

Those who had seen or eaten at both restaurants, including writers from New York Magazine, who wrote up the fracas on the mag’s blog, Grub Street, agreed that Ed’s is shockingly similar to Pearl (check out these damning photos on Eater—they even have nearly identical chairs!). But the idea that Charles could claim that her recipes and décor were original enough to be considered intellectual property struck many as disingenuous. After all, Charles openly admits that San Francisco’s Swan Oyster
Depot was the inspiration for Pearl (it, too, has a marble counter and serves oyster crackers), and that she took design inspiration from summers in Maine.

“So is Charles really innovative? And taking the ambiance of a seafood shack? They’ve been around for decades—as have other places,” writes Erik Sherman on the blog Flash in the Pan.

Homaro Cantu of Moto restaurant in Chicago requires that his chefs sign a nondisclosure agreement, and has patented his edible paper, among other dishes. We’re clearly living in an era when high-profile chefs better at least try to look original. We just hope that if Charles wins, some über–bagel shop won’t try to come after every competitor selling an eggwich. There’s a comfort, sometimes, in sameness.

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POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

COMMENT

  • Anyone have any idea how the lawsuit turned out?

  • Agree with harryharry and the dr. Imitation is a form of flattery but this is just ridiculous. The judge before throwing the case out the window should make McFarland eat some $29 rancid lobster rolls as a punishment for being unimaginative.

  • I agree totally with harryharry and I think most others have missed the point. It's not that one restaurant cannot resemble another nor is it about one menu being similar to another, rather, it concerns an employee who lied to his former employer and then set about doing precisely what he had learned from her by copying. McFarland told Pearl that he was opening an entirely different sort of...+READ

    I agree totally with harryharry and I think most others have missed the point. It's not that one restaurant cannot resemble another nor is it about one menu being similar to another, rather, it concerns an employee who lied to his former employer and then set about doing precisely what he had learned from her by copying. McFarland told Pearl that he was opening an entirely different sort of establishment and then he chose a proximate address, an almost identical theme/decor, as well as an eerily similar menu with his obvious intent being to compete with Pearl. If nothing else, I believe McFarland is a louse and that Pearl is suffering from nothing less than a case of justifiable outrage. I don't think that using the legal system will prove effective in any way other than to cause McFarland some indigestion and money .-COLLAPSE

  • I own a business - I have worked very (very) hard to develop an identity, recipes, customer base, etc... if one of my former employees were to open a near identical business in the same town, I would be pissed off... probably enough to sue, even if I knew I wouldn't win.

  • Since I grew up in Maine, neither looks authentic and if anyone should be suing, it's all those clam shacks in Maine. Obviously, there's something personal going on here, and the court should just give it the boot. Gray paint, oyster crackers and a marble bar indeed. Sheesh.

  • Rebecca Charles restaurant looks like every other "pretend" shack that is not located in Maine or a smelly dock in some northeast coastal fishing town.

    My mother used to make the same croutons with English muffins; as novel, an idea as pizza english muffins when I was a kid and just as inventive. Both uses have been suggested on the Thomas English muffin package.

    Rebecca should be...+READ

    Rebecca Charles restaurant looks like every other "pretend" shack that is not located in Maine or a smelly dock in some northeast coastal fishing town.

    My mother used to make the same croutons with English muffins; as novel, an idea as pizza english muffins when I was a kid and just as inventive. Both uses have been suggested on the Thomas English muffin package.

    Rebecca should be embarrassed by her greed and truly needs to get a life!-COLLAPSE

  • god forbid oyster crackers at a seafood place!