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Lawsuit: Pizza war in Lansdowne
At the Lansdowne Town Center, two restaurants – Emilio's Brick Oven Pizza and Not Your Average Joe's – face each other, separated only by a sidewalk.On any given evening, you can stroll through the town center and observe patrons dining at both places.
From the outside, the two appear to be amicable neighbors. On the inside, they're anything but.
Emilio's has filed a lawsuit in Loudoun County Circuit Court against Not Your Average Joe's, claiming the restaurant is selling brick-oven pizza, a right that Emilio's purchased exclusivity to in its contract with retail developer Saul Holdings Limited Partnership.
The exclusivity provision says that the “Landlord shall not lease any portion of the Project for use as (i) a restaurant whose principal business is the operation of a table service Italian restaurant or (ii) a restaurant serving brick oven pizza.”
The provision also says the “Landlord shall be permitted to enter into a lease with any tenants that serve pizza, but not brick oven pizza.”
Therein lies the problem. Not Your Average Joe's says it does not serve brick-oven pizza.
As described from the menu, Not Your Average Joe's pizzas are “hand stretched and baked in the stone hearth forno at up to 700 degrees, locking in the bold, fresh flavors.”
The stone hearth forno, made by the company Wood Stone, is not built with bricks.
“It is not brick-oven pizza,” said Thomas Connally, the attorney representing Not Your Average Joe's in the case.
“We don't think there's any basis to [Emilio's] claims,” he said.
Mark Moorstein, attorney for Emilio's, disagrees.
Brick-oven pizza, Moorstein said, is baked in a natural oven with open doors with a dome that has convection heat. The heat rises to the top, hovers for a bit, then radiates down instead of coming out of the oven.
The stone hearth forno uses the same process even though it uses stones instead of bricks, Moorstein said.
“Brick oven is kind of a generic name,” Moorstein said. “... A rose by any other name is still a rose.”
He said his client is paying for an exclusivity provision that Not Your Average Joe's is violating.
Not Your Average Joe's contract includes a covenant that says it is not allowed to sell brick-oven pizza since Emilio's has purchased the exclusivity for that.
Moorstein claims that the covenant makes Emilio's a third-party beneficiary in the contract between Not Your Average Joe's and the developer.
A third-party beneficiary is someone who may have a right to sue on a contract even though it is not one of its original parties.
In court documents, Connally claims that Emilio's is not a third-party beneficiary in the contract, so there is no basis for the lawsuit.
According to court documents, management at Emilio's said the restaurant has lost a lot of business since Not Your Average Joe's opened.
“As a result of Joe's tortuous interference with Emilio's business, Emilio's has suffered $600,000 in compensatory damages, including lost profits,” said a court document filed by Emilio's.
Since Not Your Average Joe's is a chain, it is able to sell pizza at cheaper prices than Emilio's, Moorstein said.
Emilio's is seeking $600,000 from Not Your Average Joe's, as well as an order for it to not sell the kind of pizza it currently sells.
Not Your Average Joe's wants the judge to drop the case and force Emilio's to pay all court costs and attorney fees.
If the case proceeds to trial, Moorstein said it could include testimony from brick-oven pizza experts and a juror taste test of the restaurants' pizzas.
A demurrer hearing is set for June 6 when Not Your Average Joe's will try to persuade a judge to drop the suit.
Contact the reporter at jrenn@timespapers.com
Sounds like sour grapes to me. People will buy/eat whatever TASTES best. If Emilios is hurting because of Joe's, maybe they should rethink their receipes. I've never had Joe's pizza, but now that Emilios is complaining, I just might do so!
Posted by Waya
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Since Emilio's has more than one location, isn't it technically a chain as well?
This isn't about pizza, or which pizza tastes better. The latter is subjective anyway. The sad truth is that Emilio's business plan for the Lansdowne location is a dismal failure, and the owners are apparently looking for someone to pay.
I'm not sure how the developer sold LTC to the merchants, but it is not a great location for a white table cloth restaurant. The business crowd just isn't around to eat lunch, and the majority of evening and weekend visitors are families. Emilio's in Lansdowne wanted to distinguish itself from the Sterling location and even picked a slightly different name to suggest a more "upscale" atmosphere. Families who had enjoyed the pizza in Sterling were surprised to find that kids were discouraged and large pizzas were not available for carry out (the focus was supposed to be on small specialty pizzas). Both of these things backfired as word got out -- avoid Emilio's for family dining. This coupled with tales of $32 dinner entree specials, sealed its fate.
The restaurant has since lowered some prices, introduced sandwiches on the lunch menu, hands out coloring books and crayons to the kids, and again offers large pizzas for carry out, but I guess all of these things are not enough. Emilio's owners had the opportunity to establish a nice Italian neighborhood eatery that could serve a wide clientele. They chose a different business model. NYA Joe's should not be blamed for that.
Posted by Fanny
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Yep, Waya hit the nail on the head. I too may have to try a Joe's pizza and see what the fuss is about. Pizza is a tough business around Leesburg. Heck, if I had a nickel for every pizza joint around here, I'd be eatting steak.
Posted by Grumpy
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Emilio's does know it's a pizza joint, right? It wasn't until I saw their hokey truck parked out back that I realized it. Pizza places shouldn't make you feel like you need to wear a coat and tie to get served. Of course, that feeling dissipates when a high school sophomore takes your order and totally screws it up.
I’ll admit that I’ve only been to Emilio’s once, which is plenty of time to understand that this place is overpriced and it’s pizzas are way too prissy. The only thing it has going for it is the fact it’s bar is open later than Joe’s.
And as far as Joe’s goes, who in the heck could describe that place as having brick oven pizza as it’s primary business? Not anybody I’ve been there with. I’ve been a patron at Joe’s a couple dozen times and only ordered pizza twice --- both at happy hour.
One thing that Emilio’s has accomplished with this lawsuit was to ensure that I will never be going back. Jealously of Joe’s and their constant customer volume is no reason to litigate. Make your place better. Reinvent yourself. Keep the lawyers out of it.
Posted by aj_in_leesburg
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The above comments have hit the nail on the head. Soon after they opened, they did everything to discourage families and children including asking groups to leave. They hire high schools kids as wait staff and pretend to be an upscale restaurant. Emilio's just isn't a well run, well planned restaurant. get over it. Fix the menu, lower your prices, hire some professionals to run your restaurant.
Posted by rjburns
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