By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The owner of New York's famed BLT restaurants is suing his executive chef for infringing on the brand that bears his initials, Businessweek reported Tuesday.
The beef began last spring, when celebrity chef, Laurent Tourondel, broke from the BLT (Bistro Laurent Tourondel) restaurant empire over disagreements with his former partner, BLT owner Jimmy Haber, according to Crain's New York Business.
Haber continued to run their collection of high-end restaurants, including Manhattan institutions BLT Steak and BLT Fish, keeping his former partner on as a consultant and executive chef at nine of the company's 17 restaurants, Crain's said.
But both men have since gone on to other projects – Haber expanding the BLT Restaurant Group with the Upper East Side's Go Burger and Tourondel opening LT Burger in Sag Harbor.
The men had agreed at the beginning of their partnership not to open any "BLT" restaurants without the other, and Haber registered the acronym with the U.S. Patents and Trademarks office just to be safe, according to Crain's.
But Haber apparently feels that Tourondel's "LT" eatery comes too close for comfort. The businessman is now suing his celebrity chef for trademark infringement, claiming that he ripped off recipes from BLT Burger, Businessweek said.
Specifically, Haber accuses his French counterpart of stealing one of BLT Burger's signature boozy milkshakes, dubbed "Grandma's Treat," according to the magazine.
The $11 beverage, which includes Maker's Mark, Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream, can be purchased at Laurent's new Hamptons burger joint under the moniker, "Daisy Dukes."
