To Avoid Lawsuit, Graffit is Renamed Gastroarte

Jesus Nunez, the chef and owner of Upper West Side one star avant-guarde restaurant Graffit is giving in to a recent lawsuit and changing the name of his restaurant to Gastroarte. Back in February Jehangir Mehta, the chef and owner of established East Village restaurant Graffiti, filed a lawsuit against Nunez for copyright infringement, claiming that the names and the concepts were far too similar and that he was losing business because of it.

Nunez believes the suit is outrageous, but is conceding to avoid costly legal fees. The new name is fitting, his team argues, because the restaurant "still represents his blending of food and art." This is not the first case of its kind in recent memory. Restaurateur Marc Forgione had to change the name of his restaurant from Forge to Marc Forgione after Forge restaurant in Miami sued.

So fans of Graffit: the name again is Gastroarte.
· Graffiti's Jehangir Mehta Sues Rival Over Pop Rocks Dish [~ENY~]