New York City’s 2nd Ave Deli won the fight with a Las Vegas hamburger restaurant called Heart Attack Grill over some not very heart-healthy menu items.
We first wrote about this case back in May 2011, when Heart Attack Grill filed a lawsuit against the famous New York City deli for trademark infringement. The 2nd Ave Deli’s “instant heart attack” sandwich consists of two potato pancakes (latkes) filled with either corned beef, pastrami, turkey, or salami.
The Heart Attack Grill burger chain’s menu features “Flatliner” fries, and Single-, Double-, and Triple Bypass Burgers. The waitresses dress up as nurses and write out meal orders as “prescriptions” and refer to customers as “patients.”
A federal judge recently ruled in favor of the 2nd Ave Deli, noting that there was likely to be little overlap between the customer bases of the two businesses because they reside so far apart geographically. In the ruling he said, “ … It is safe to say that even an unsophisticated customer could readily differentiate between a Manhattan kosher deli and its latke-based sandwich and a Las Vegas ‘medically themed’ restaurant that features gluttonous cheeseburgers.”
The 2nd Ave Deli can continue serving and promoting its Instant Heart Attack Sandwich, but is restricted from advertising its triple bypass sandwich outside of the borough of Manhattan.
What’s your favorite deli sandwich?
