A New Coffee Pot, And A Copy Cat Case Closed

The Coffee Pot Cafe has opened in Lincoln at 293 W. Broadway, which has to be an improvement in name if nothing else over the previous tenant, Pit Road Concessions Diner. This is the second Coffee Pot location (the first is in Bangor) but not the original - that closed in 2009. Dr. Robert E. Erickson, owner of the two current Coffee Pots and a dentist in Bangor, refused to talk to the Bangor Daily News for the story on the opening, but Shawn Phillips, manager of the Why Not Stop? convenience store and gas station next door was happy to oblige.

I have done, over the past two or three months, my own research in terms of talking to people whether or not they have heard of the name the coffee pot and I was surprised at the number of people who did, Phillips said. It is almost a brand name like a McDonald's or Burger King.

In March, Erickson sued The Legacy Sandwich Shop, also in Bangor, over sandwich names including "deluxe" and "superdeluxe" on their menus — words that were associated with the original Coffee Pot and also on their menu. The suit alleged that this caused "confusion or misunderstanding" that would lead people to think the two businesses were affiliated. But earlier this month, lawyers for both eateries "filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in U.S. District Court in Bangor," according to the BDN. The case will be dismissed "with prejudice," meaning it can never be refiled in court. You just can't make this stuff up.

· New Coffee Pot Cafe Opens In Lincoln [BDN]
· Legal Battle Between Bangor Sandwich Shops Ends With A Dismissal [BDN]

[Photo: Maine Buzz blog]