1 Photo
Suspiciously similar.
A favorite face around East Hampton is no longer all smiles.
Last month, celebrity chef Ina Garten sued OFI Imports Inc. in federal court in Manhattan, demanding that the frozen food manufacturer stop cashing in on her Barefoot Contessa brand by making and packaging its “Contessa Chef Inspired” meals in an eerily similar fashion.
“OFI has refused to stop,” Ms. Garten said in published reports, “and that leaves no choice other than to pursue legal action that will protect the brand that I’ve built over the last 35 years.”
Last year, OFI purchased Contessa Premium Foods, the manufacturer of Ms. Garten’s frozen dinners, but that did not include licensing rights for the chef’s Barefoot Contessa brand. The lawsuit seeks to, first and foremost, stop the sales and award Ms. Garten damages.
Waiting around until Memorial Day is an exercise in patience for East End restaurateurs. The father-and-son team behind Bay Kitchen Bar, which opened its doors in East Hampton last summer, is no exception.
Co-owners Eric and Adam Miller have decided to pass the time productively by launching a sister location in Manhattan, transporting their sea-to-table concept to the Upper East Side.
Not to worry, they say: BKB will be return to Three Mile Harbor come May.
on Mar 3, 2015