Steakhouses have been popping up all over LA. One new entry into the meat market, Wolfgang's Steakhouse, an offshoot of a New York mini-chain from Wolfgang Zwiener (former head waiter at Peter Luger), has attracted a lawsuit from none other than Wolfgang Puck. The Wolfgang's Steakhouse first LA outpost (and first location outside NYC) is just around the corner from Puck's Cut steakhouse. And Mr. Puck, needless to say, is not amused. According to a lawsuit filed in LA Superior Court today, Wolfgang Puck is claiming that not only has Wolfgang Zwiener gone back on a 2007 agreemement between the two parties but has also purposely emphasized the name Wolfgang in order to "take unfair advantage of the reputation and enormous good will developed" by Puck over his decades of working in the City of Angels.
The earlier agreement reportedly said that if Zwiener were to expand outside of Manhattan he "would use his full name 'Wolfgang Zwiener' in a manner which would eliminate confusion regarding any affiliation" between the two Wolfgangs. The full name of Zwiener's steakhouse is, technically, Wolfgang's Steakhouse by Wolfgang Zwiener. But the steakhouse has not, according to Puck, been forthcoming to patrons about its full name or its non-relationship with the famous chef.
"I have one lady who books her Christmas party every year with us and always tries to book it in our new restaurants, like Cut," Puck says. "So she called the steakhouse thinking it was mine and tried to book it. When she asked to speak to a manager, nobody would tell her it wasn't my restaurant. They kept it, somehow, very vague."
Even the valet at Spago has been confused, Puck adds. He recently congratulated the chef on his new steakhouse.
This all could be resolved quite easily, according to Puck: "I would just like them to use their full name. I would use my full name if it were me. If they are running a good operation and call it Wolfgang Zwiener, what difference would it make?"
When the LA restaurant's signage first appeared, Puck says his people approached the steakhouse to remind them of their agreement, but it "fell on deaf ears." And so Puck has thrown up his hands and is now in it for the long haul. "We'll do whatever it takes now," he said. "If it goes for a year, it goes for a year."
Reps for Zwiener could not be reached for comment.