Trader Joe’s suing NYC wine shop for using ‘Joe,’ encroaching on its brand

Trader Joe’s is suing a new wine store in town for having an all-too familiar name, according to a new lawsuit filed by the grocery giant in New York state court.

And that name is Joe.

The grocery chain says Joe’s Wines Co. is infringing on its intellectual property rights, confusing customers by opening a “knock-off wine store” at 113 3rd Ave. — just blocks away from its former Trader Joe’s Wine Shop that abruptly closed in 2022 after workers there tried to unionize.

Trader Joe’s wants the store to change its name and pay damages, according to the 31-page suit filed this month

But Joe’s Wine Co. claims Joseph is a family name that goes back hundreds of years, and the store “celebrates a family heritage of winemaking that dates back to 12th-century Spain,” according to a press release sent to Gothamist by the company. And their lawyer points out that plenty of New York businesses, including Joe’s Pizza next door to Trader Joe’s, use the name “Joe” in their title.

The suit is about more than just the name. In it, Trader Joe’s attorneys claim the wine store stole the chain’s entire aesthetic, including its initial use of a red circular logo, color scheme and wood paneling to “ape the look of a Trader Joe’s store.”

The wine store, which is located near a Trader Joe’s grocery store on 14th Street, is “actively courting consumer confusion,” the suit claims, citing local news outlets that reported locals had believed the store to be affiliated to the chain

What’s more, they advertised that it would sell “100 WINES UNDER $12!” — similar to Trader Joe’s offerings in the neighborhood before their store disappeared overnight, leaving patrons without their beloved cheap wine.

The suit claims the owners of Joe’s Wine Co. purchased the “assets” of Taste Wine Co., a wine store that operated at 50 Third Ave. for 5 years before closing in 2020. But instead of reopening the store under the same name, they decided to go with “Joe’s Wine Co.” According to state records, a request to move Taste Wine Co.’s liquor license to 113 3rd Ave. was filed to the State Liquor Authority License Bureau last year.

In its statement, Joe’s Wines Co. said the grocery giant’s legal challenges were an “unexpected obstacle” as they were launching the store, which opened over the summer. They also accused Trader Joe’s of shutting down their successful Trader Joe’s Wine Shop “to snuff out a union drive” and said the chain now “asserts some strange notion of geographic territoriality because they once had a wine shop nearby.”

“It’s hard enough to open a small business in New York City these days without the constant intimidation and threat of litigation we are receiving from Trader Joe’s,” Joseph Strich, Joe’s Wine Co. spokesperson said in a statement. “We are the hard working people here, real New Yorkers, trying to do something to honor our winemaking heritage and benefit this community by offering affordable and quality wine and spirits.”

On the phone Wednesday Strich said Joe’s Wine Co. is a completely new, family-owned business that only bought Taste Wine’s license.

The store hired Philadelphia trademark attorney Alfred Zaher to defend them in their David vs. Joeliath struggle

“It just doesn’t make sense that we among hundreds would be picked out as being a little confusing when there are so many pre-existing uses of Joe,” Zaher said in an interview. “The only similarities between our mark and theirs is the word Joe, theirs is Trader Joe’s — Trader is the dominant portion. No one knows them as Joe. I don’t think you do, I don’t think I do, no one knows them as Joe. We know them as Trader Joe’s.”

He added that the color scheme and circular logo mentioned in the suit were only part of promotional banners, rather than the permanent signage, which is brown with no circle.

According to Trader Joe’s account, the lawsuit follows months of trying to settle the dispute outside of court, during which the small business assured the grocery chain it would change their name and branding. And while Joe’s Wine Co.’s red banner and circular logo did come down, other significant brand “trade dress” remained, like the wood paneling.

Trader Joe’s is demanding the small business change its name and branding. They’re also seeking an award of three times Trader Joe’s damages or Joe’s Wines Co.’s profit, whichever is greater, a payout for their attorneys fees, and punitive damages.