Cheesy, touristy coffeehouse tries to shut down new, authentic Mediterranean restaurant with pointless lawsuit.
UPDATE (Sept. 11, 2014): Café Mezo Capitulates To Café Intermezzo
Café Intermezzo is suing Café Mezo, a new Midtown Mediterranean restaurant, over the businesses’ similar-sounding names.
Café Intermezzo contends it’s losing business because people are confused between the carnival house, faux-Italian establishment, and the authentic, raucous Mediterranean restaurant.
Right.
That’s like Ebenezer Baptist Church claiming that Grant Henry’s Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium is stealing parishioners.
If you’ve ever been to Cafe Intermezzo, the Epcot of restaurants, you realize the ridiculousness of its premise. Set aside that we despise Café Intermezzo and love Café Mezo, it’s hard to imagine how anybody could confuse the two restaurants.
The sad reality is that Café Mezo will have to lick the latte foam off its face and change the restaurant’s name because it will be too expensive for a mom-and-pop shop to defend itself against the half-Disney, half -Madame Tussauds’ replica of an Italian bistro.
14 Responses
Good for you, Spivak, for taking on a popular restaurant that needs to be taken down a peg or two. I’d choose Mezo over Intermezzo any day of the week. This is a ridonculous lawsuit whose only premise is “Because we can.”
I won’t comment on the lawsuit, but I think you’re being rather harsh on cafe intermezzo outside your opinion on the lawsuit. The half-disney epcot vs the mom and pop?
Its a home grown company with just 3 locations and found success early on. They have a quality product and a great environment for an intimate after dinner coffee and dessert. Admittedly…. I miss their original location.
Wow, “despise?” What did they ever do to you? I gotta agree with CW. A little harsh there. Am I missing something?
I love both places for completely different reasons, but this is a STUPID and WASTEFUL lawsuit!
the last time I went to cafe intermezzo was YEARS ago. worst crowd ever and the service was atrocious! sometimes you grow up and out of something and that’s what happened. frivolous lawsuits rule the world. you have to think about what kind of people would actually go through with something like this. … and THATS the kind of folks I don’t want to give my money!
Most people love Café Intermezzo and that’s why it’s successful and has become an iconic Atlanta brand. It’s so successful in fact that someone has moved into the former location with a total rip off concept to try and capitalize on it. Why shouldn’t someone with a successful brand protect it? And, why in the world would anyone ever want to take down a successful business “a peg or two?” Café Intermezzo has brought an energy and vitality to the heart of Midtown that is welcome. I go often and I see it full of people like me who live and work in Midtown.
One can not be taken seriously when their comments are unnecessarily harsh
such as these about Cafe Intermezzo. It just feeds into the decline in civility
on the internet.
You are obviously completely ignorant of trademark law. Even if no one would confuse these two restaurants, the names are similar and they are located close to one another. If Café Intermezzo ignored this situation, it would make it much more difficult for them to protect their trademark in the future. Regardless, I think you need to tone it down with the snark.
Lawsuit bad, childish post is worse.
I’m with JD. You lost credibility with your scathing commentary about Cafe Intermezzo. A bit much, I’d say.
Cafe Mezo is superior in service, ambiance, and food quality. Intermezzo is almost cartoonish in its attempts to appear authentic. The owner of Mezo, Kemal, is a hard working generous owner and host. He’s made that space work where others have failed. The lawsuit is garbage. Nobody confuses the two places.
Caleb….please don’t turn bitter like that other website, it’s such a turn off for readers – thanks.
Caleb I enjoyed the post. I agree 100%. If any ever did mistake Mezo for Intermezzo they were better off for it.
it is sad when one restaurant tries to bully another restaurant. just like slice vs. slice pizza a few years back. the real slice pizza at howell mill spent over $120k defending a bullshit lawsuit from the slice broad in casellberry and rightfully won the case, but ending up closing both restaurants because the lawsuit cost so much. then the broad from casselberry ultimately changed names and went out of business anyway. lots of jobs were lost. very sad.