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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > June > 01 > Entry
Attorneys for Duke’s ask judge to reopen restaurant, allow Italian dishes
Attorneys for Duke’s restaurant have asked a federal judge to reverse his earlier order and allow the restaurant to reopen “as an Italian-American restaurant.”
The motion to modify Judge Thomas M. Rose’s temporary restraining order represents the latest legal salvo in a bitter legal dispute between Anne B. Mantia, who owned Dominic’s Restaurant when it closed in 2007, and the restaurant at 630 E. Dixie Drive in West Carrollton . Anne Mantia filed a trademark-infringement and breach-of-contract lawsuit April 3 against Duke’s restaurant owner Reece Powers III, its chef (and former Dominic’s chef) Harry Lee, and against her stepdaughter Christie Mantia. Christie, the granddaughter of Dominic’s founder Dominic Mantia, once owned half of Dominic’s and was to manage the new restaurant but left or was terminated before Duke’s opened.
Judge Rose has ordered the restaurant closed pending the outcome of the civil lawsuit and has already rejected one attempt by a different set of Duke’s attorneys to overturn the order to shut down the restaurant.
In a court filing late Friday, Powers’ and Lee’s most recently hired attorneys — Steven Dankof Sr. and Thomas Intili — argue that the “facts and circumstances … have changed since May 14” when Rose issued his order to shut down the restaurant until the court case is resolved.
Duke’s owner has taken the required steps to distance the restaurant from the former Dominic’s, including dissolving the corporation Powers had set up last year that had been named “Dominic’s Restaurant Inc.,” the attorneys said.
The Duke’s attorneys dismissed as “impertinent” and “posturing” a suggestion last week by Anne Mantia’s attorney, James Morris, that the restaurant had the chance to reopen if it agreed to cease serving Italian food.
“First, it is virtually impossible to define ‘Italian’ food,” Dankof and Intili wrote. “Indeed, given that the variety of food seved in Italy is so vast, an order barring Duke’s from serving ‘Italian’ food would be the equivalent of barring Duke’s from reopening entirely.”
The judge would be overstepping his bounds if he banned the restaurant from serving Italian food, or even if he ordered it not to serve “dishes once featured by the former Dominic’s restaurant,” the Duke’s attorneys said.
Friday’s court filing was not without a bit of legal taunting in a case that has at times gotten personal. In a footnote embedded in their motion, the Duke’s attorneys say of Anne Mantia, “And unlike plaintiffs who oversaw the demise of the former Dominic’s restaurant and now merely market products (salad dressing and pasta sauce), the Duke’s restaurant defendants actually operate a restaurant.”
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
Comments
By I WORK AT DUKE'S
June 8, 2009 12:55 AM | Link to this
THE EMPLOYEES HAVE NOT GOT PAID YET, WE WAS SUPPPOSED TO GET PAID ON JUNE 1, BUT THINGS CHANGED.SO WHEN CAN WE GET PAID,THE EMPLOYEE HAVE KIDS TO TAKE OF AND BILLS TO PAY.WE CAN NOT GIVE DAYTON POWER AND LIGHTS I OWE YOU ON THE BILL, SO WHEN CAN WE GET PAID??????By I WORK AT DUKE'S
June 8, 2009 12:49 AM | Link to this
THEY DIDN’T PAY US OUR SECOND CHECK YET WHEN CAN THE EMPLOYEES GET PAID, WE ALL HAVE BILLS TO PAY AND KIDS TO TAKE OF.WE CAN’T GIVE DAYTON POWER AND LIGHTS I OWE YOU THE BILLBy Doc
June 2, 2009 3:32 PM | Link to this
nyc- give it a rest, would you pal? NOBODY ever said Dominic’s was a rated restaurant. It was a fine dining establishment in Dayton who’s residents liked it and now miss it. Got a problem with that, knucklehead?By Dominick
June 1, 2009 8:48 PM | Link to this
The elder Mantia has sullied my good name and that of every great Italian lad who shares my name. It is time for all sharing this name to unite in a class action against the elder Mantia. Now seems the opportune time to open an Italian restaurant under my name, which is not the name the elder Mantia “owns”. In that regard there are at least two other “Dominic’s” restaurants in Ohio, and many more in several other states, including Louisiana, all of whom purport to serve “Italian” food. It is of note that not all items appearing on the elder Mantia’s menu were “Italian”. Almost none were my grandmother’s “classical Italian”. That’s a fact, not a complaint. Alas the elder Mantia misled naive Daytonian palates for several years, perhaps the thrust of another class action.By yummygood
June 1, 2009 6:38 PM | Link to this
Here is my personal recipe 2 cups mayonnaise 1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 2 1/2 tablespoons red onions very finely minced 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon sweet basil Directions 1. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk in large bowl and mix with wire whip. 2. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate a few hours before serving.By BW
June 1, 2009 4:39 PM | Link to this
anne is nothing but a gold digger & a bar fly who married into money.Any one who has know her for the last 25 years will tell you the same thing.By misterunknown
June 1, 2009 3:32 PM | Link to this
Let’s get the White House to settle this and see if they can do any better!By nyc
June 1, 2009 1:33 PM | Link to this
how many stars did this italian restaurant have…3,4 or 5???????…….By truthdetector
June 1, 2009 12:56 PM | Link to this
Big R: If you were referring to Dominic’s on Main St… you might be right. Or perhaps Anne might just have decided to take the money from MVH and take a vacation. Had Christie not sold her rights before that, she would have gotten a portion of that sale price. Could be that MVH overpaid to get it over with, and Anne ended up with a bigger ‘half’ than Christie, and that’s behind all this drama now.By Carol
June 1, 2009 12:42 PM | Link to this
I am 63 years old and from the time I was a teenager, Dominic’s was THE restaurant in Dayton. Nothing beats their Italian dishes. I live in Columbus now, and the thing I miss most about Dayton (besides my family) is the great food at the Dominic’s that no longer exists. Let this woman bring us the food we love to eat and let her stepmother get a real life.By truthdetector
June 1, 2009 12:34 PM | Link to this
Big R: The place closed because the judge ordered it, not because of a lack of customers. But if they had called the place “Big D’s” in the beginning, instead of using the Dominic’s name on a corporation, and if they hadn’t used Dominic’s name on the receipts, they would still be open and happy. Sad. It does appear they were trying to be too smart by half, and got called on it. It’s also sad that those that chose to put their trust in them as employers were let down so dramatically.By Big R
June 1, 2009 11:39 AM | Link to this
Anne B. Mantia’s attorney must be on the back of the phone book.By Big R
June 1, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
Hey lady—if the restaurant closed noone wanted to eat there. I guess your secret recipe is worthless. Why is this news? Does anyone care? What is this lady’s problem?By mechengr9
June 1, 2009 11:28 AM | Link to this
FreedomWriter -Maybe you should go to a “real” news source and read about the 228 people who just died in a plane crash. Is that newsworthy enough for you? Better yet just quit reading DDN altogether if it is such a pathetic rag.By FreedomWriter
June 1, 2009 11:22 AM | Link to this
I am still wondering why the HELL this is still making the news for. Is things really that SLOW that DDN has nothing of news value to cover but this pathetic story. Time to move on, dont you think?By jp
June 1, 2009 11:18 AM | Link to this
And the drama continues. This is a never-ending story.By Gary
June 1, 2009 10:55 AM | Link to this
Jericho, I totally agree. The DUKE’s people should have just called the new place “THE SPAGHETTI BOWL” or “PASTA PLACE” or whatever. For whatever reason they tried to get cute with Anne Mantia and it has come back to bite them.By mechengr9
June 1, 2009 10:51 AM | Link to this
The only thing Duke’s can not use is the name Dominics. Recipes DO NOT have copyright,patent or trademark protection-PERIOD. Therefore Duke’s can serve whatever they like and one of the Mantia’s can stuff it where the sun don’t shine.By ELW
June 1, 2009 10:44 AM | Link to this
Did’s Lees FAmous Recipe get this much flack from Colonel Sanders when they decided to fry up a few chickens? Lets see- it’s a breaded fried chicken that (while I’m sure there’s some “gormets” who can tell the difference) are virtually the same thing. Who came first: McDonald’s or Burger King? Open the place and see how they hold up. In this economy they may fall on their face in 6 months. Why is Anne so worried?By Michelle
June 1, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this
I am so sick of all this drama,lawsuits and bickering. the only thing I liked was the salad dressing. I can get that at DLM. So I dont care if they never re-open. I LOVE LOVE LOVE FRANCO’S. I wish the judge would tell the Mantia family to take it to the Springer show! Go away already!By JerichoJenny
June 1, 2009 9:47 AM | Link to this
I don’t think they have the right to use Dominic’s name or to use the exact recipes Dominic’s used. However, they should have the right to open an “Italian” restaurant using their own recipes under another name. Anne Mantia does NOT have the right to close all the “Italian” restaurants.By Ricky Harville
June 1, 2009 9:38 AM | Link to this
I am frightened to make a loaf of bread at home for fear that the wonder bread co will sue me.If this judgement holds we will all be losing .this will set a precedent that will affect us all,This is a lame attempt to take yet another basic human right from us all,The simple fact is The ex owner of Dominics has more money than brains and a hot Italian temperBy RickyHarville
June 1, 2009 9:28 AM | Link to this
I am very afraid to make a Loaf of bread now for fear wonder bread Company may sue me.Come on ,If this judgement holds it will set precedents that will affect all of us now and in the future.This judge offends me on so many levels and it should offend everyone.By A. Chapman
June 1, 2009 9:07 AM | Link to this
I realize that we have laws to follow, but did anyone ever think of all of Duke’s employees? In this terrible economy we have yet more people unemployeed. It isn’t just Mr. Reese that is suffering.By L Berry
June 1, 2009 8:54 AM | Link to this
This case is gotten out of hand. The judge should look at the facts as they now stand. His original order was well within his “power”, but the new corp and operators are only looking to open a resturant in which a lot of time and money are invested. Who does he think he is, Car owner Obama?