Mister Softee is anything but soft when it comes to safeguarding his cherished name.
The New Jersey-based owner of the ubiquitous ice cream trucks is suing a rogue Queens vendor, charging he opened his depot in Long Island City to peddle a knockoff version.
A mix of about two dozen nearly identical Master Softee and Mister Softee trucks are lined up inside and outside Dimitrios Tsirkos’s 11th St. garage.
The fledgling business has soured tempers throughout Mister Softee headquarters in South Jersey and its franchisees across Queens and the Bronx.
Owner Jim Conway cried trademark infringement in a March lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court and demanded Tsirkos drop the Softee con.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain is expected to rule this month whether Master Softee trucks should be yanked off city streets. Conway is also seeking a six-figure payout to cover unpaid licensing and marketing fees Tsirkos still owes.
11 comments:
"...Mister Softee headquarters in South Jersey"
Say no more, that confirms what I've heard: Mafia run.
A Greek and a mobster in a war. that will be entertaining.
Lol master softee....Lol that is funny! I hardly see Mister softee trucks coming down my block anymore....wonder if I can get master softee to come down instead!
Kick Master Softee out of business and make him pay up for deceiving the public and illegally copying a NY institution and profiting from it.
I see no problem with having both Mister and Master ice cream trucks. I can read so I can tell the difference. Maybe make Master change his tie or suit jacket to make it easier to tell the difference :-)
Change the name to Mrs. Softee and you are good.
Screw Mister Softee, Master Softee and all the other crummy so called ice cream vendors.
Many are just fronts for drug dealers. A couple of years ago in North Flushing a couple feet away from Bowne Park playground a Mister Softee goon was arrested for dealing pot and cocaine to the locals. He also sold his wares near grammar schools. Plus the goon parked at a fire hydrant and kept his jingle playing for literally hours at a time. A nartcotics team finally arrested him and he got some serious jail time.
By the way, his handler was one of the Bowne Park Bocce guys.
Several other Mr. Softee guys were arrested over the past years in the region and no one seems to care that many of these vendors are ex-cons and thugs.
All this time, I've been following the wrong master: diabetes.
Maybe legalize weed and we can call the truck Mr.Doobie and he can play Bob Marley songs at Bowne Park.
I saw this truck in manhattan last week which I found amusing.These dopes can't come up with their own name?
What's funnier is the difference with this logo is that its a sugar cone instead of the styrofoam one.
i had an inkling it was mob owned too,but it's a new york staple.It's ubiquitous theme song we new yorkers will carry to our grave.Try not to be traumatized by it,although its hard no to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYBEOtemA40
I saw Master Softee two weeks ago at the Jackson Heights green market - did a double take since I thought it was a misprint. The good thing, however, is that he was not playing an annoying jingle.
Funny one J !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYBEOtemA40
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