Tim Aten Knows: Dispute results in restaurant’s new name

About a month and a half after Papa Joe’s Trattoria launched in the former longtime space of Zen Asian BBQ, the North Naples restaurant quietly changed its name in early August to The Brooklyn Trattoria because of a close family dispute. Brothers Massimo and John Maffei, the president and vice president, respectively, of New York Pizza & Pasta, claim their father, Giuseppe “Paра Joe” Maffei, harmed their business by leaving NYPP this summer to start the competing Italian restaurant nearby. 

“We got a cease-and-desist first. Then, they filed the lawsuit,” said Mike Cardascia, who co-owns the new trattoria with Giuseppe Maffei. “We hired an attorney. We agreed, ‘OK, we don’t want to go through this for a long time.’ The name doesn’t mean anything to us.” 

The name of their father’s new restaurant certainly meant something to the Maffei brothers, though. A Collier County civil case — New York Pizza & Pasta Inc. vs. Papa Joe’s Trattoria LLC — was filed July 27 in the Circuit Court of the 20th Judicial District about a month after the grand opening of Papa Joe’s at 10823 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples Park, nearly half a mile southwest of New York Pizza & Pasta at 11140 Tamiami Trail N. in Riverchase Plaza.  

New York Pizza & Pasta was seeking an injunction and damages against Papa Joe’s Trattoria. 

“This is an action seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to enjoin Trattoria from (i) misappropriating and converting NYPP’s proprietary marketing to Trattoria’s own purpose and use, (ii) passing off NYPP recipes and meals as Trattoria’s, (iii) using, disclosing, or retaining any NYPP customer contact information obtained from NYPP; (iv) directly or indirectly soliciting any NYPP customers identified through information obtained from NYPP; and (v) otherwise engaging in unfair competition or interference with NYPP’s customer relationships, pending final adjudication. Such conduct and actions have caused and threaten further irreparable harm to NYPP’s reputation and goodwill in ways that cannot be compensated solely by monetary damages,” the lawsuit states. 

Dad dispute 

The nickname “Papa Joe” originated at New York Pizza & Pasta, where it became associated with the restaurant, brand and customer experience, including a signature menu item, Papa Joe's Lasagna, according to the lawsuit.   

“Beginning in 2016, NYPP used Papa Joe’s name and likeness to market NYPP to the general public, emphasizing authentic Italian cuisine by way of New York City. Massimo and John created and used the marketing name ‘Papa Joe,’ extensively in NYPP advertising, including social media posts and reels,” the lawsuit states. “While appearing in NYPP’s marketing, Papa Joe worked at the restaurant, mingled with the customers and served as a New York Italian presence associated with NYPP.”  

New York Pizza & Pasta at 11140 Tamiami Trail N. originally opened in 1999 under different ownership, before new owners changed the name to Capri Ristorante and Lounge in 2007. The Maffeis changed the name back to New York Pizza & Pasta in 2011.  

The exterior signs for Papa Joe’s were changed this month to The Brooklyn in the L-shaped retail center across U.S. 41 from P.F. Chang’s. 

“People don’t care about the name; they care about the experience, the food, the service, the atmosphere. That’s what they care about. I don’t really care about the name,” said Cardascia, who said it was his plan to change his Korean barbecue dining concept to an Italian restaurant at the end of the season this spring.  

“The food costs are high for Asian restaurants, The labor costs are high. It was time to change to something new,” he said. “The revenue didn’t drop. It’s just that the profits dropped so much. We lost so much. We went from never losing money in the off-season to losing a lot of money in the off-season, so I wanted to try something new, and I’m Italian, so I wanted to do something Italian.” 

Giuseppe Maffei asked him to be part of the new venture, Cardascia said.  

“He had his own restaurant at 22 years old. He’s 72. He’s been cooking for 50 years,” he said. 

Unfortunately, the new partnership led to a costly legal matter. 

“I don’t care about changing the name. It’s just money at this point,” Cardascia said. “It’s a lot of money. We’ve got to change everything, The sign’s got to change. The menu’s got to change. The uniforms have to change. You have legal fees. It’s an unexpected $50,000 with everything. It’s the last thing you need when you’re opening up a restaurant, but it is what it is.” 

Site is a cabaret 

Q: If you get a chance, I would love to see a post with an update on what is happening with the old SWFL Events Center on the corner of Imperial Parkway and Bonita Beach Road in Bonita Springs. It was such a fun place to go before they closed a few years ago. It has been in the middle of a slow interior renovation and exterior refresh for quite a while. The exterior design still looks the same. It has no windows so it still looks like it could be some sort of an entertainment venue. Thanks very much. — Tom Ewing, Bonita Springs 

A: Before the end of this year, you’ll be able to come hear the music play at the cabaret dinner show concept completing an extensive interior transformation at the site of the former Southwest Florida Event Center, 11515 Bonita Beach Road SE in Bonita Springs. 

Roy Dobrasinovic, CEO and president of Chicago-based Compass Holding, is developing locations of Voulez-Vous Cabaret Lounge coming to both Chicagoland and Bonita Springs, which will host Voulez-Vous Naples. Voulez-vous is a French phrase meaning “Do you want?” or “Would you like?” 

Dobrasinovic was traveling and not available to share opening details about his latest venture, but the website for his cabarets provides a luxurious glimpse of what is in store. 

“Voulez-Vous Naples carries the night across two distinct spaces,” the website notes. “The Glamour Room welcomes up to 350 guests for a three-hour cabaret performance where exceptional dining meets world-class entertainment. As the show ends, the energy carries over into the Lounge — an intimate room of 150 anchored by a celebrity booth, four LED screens and a dedicated stage for live DJ sets and curated performances.”   

Dinner shows will be scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and the venue will be available for private events such as corporate dinners or weddings when available.  

Built 20 years ago as an Eckerd pharmacy that was sold before it opened, the more than 25,000-square-foot building became the Southwest Florida Performing Arts Center in 2016. The concert hall eventually became the Southwest Florida Event Center before the pandemic shutdown closed it in early 2020. A relaunch of the venue two years later was short-lived, and it has been shuttered for the last few years. 

The Tim Aten Knows weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at Tim.Aten@NaplesPress.com.