Iconic Whiteway deli moves, now in a stew over name

[thelakelander]

Former landlord says deli owner shouldn't be able to use the name since the restaurant left Whiteway Corner

Trouble’s cooking at the home of the Tanzler  sandwich and Wednesday hamburger special.

Trouble with a capital T, as in tabbouleh.
It all started when the owner of the Whiteway Delicatessen, a Jacksonville institution at Park and King streets since 1927, decided last year to move 353 feet north.

He took with him a bustling breakfast and lunch crowd, a menu of sandwiches named after local dignitaries who frequent the Riverside eatery and binders stuffed with candid snapshots he’s taken of customers the past three decades.

Now his former landlord has sued, stating in small claims court that the deli owes him $5,000 a month to rent the name Whiteway. George Martin, president of Whiteway Realty, reasons that since the restaurant left Whiteway Corner, there should be no free lunch when it comes to the name.

Attached to his one-page lawsuit is a letter Martin sent deli owner Sam Salem last October titled “Warning to you not to use the name 'Whiteway.’ ”

“There is confusion created by them using the name where Whiteway Corner isn’t,” said Martin, who’s representing himself. “We’ve spent probably over $100,000 marketing the name Whiteway Corner.”

Salem declined comment but asked a judge to dismiss Martin’s complaint on grounds that it’s based on a letter that Salem never signed and that isn’t enforceable. Duval County Judge Ronald Higbee  is scheduled to take up that motion next month.

“There are no grounds for a contract claim,” said Salem’s attorney, Thomas Bishop. “Before it starts, the case should be dismissed.”

Longtime patrons like retired Judge A.C. Soud  call the lawsuit “frivolous.”

“This man’s claiming his rights to the name Whiteway, but Whiteway is an area of town. It’s just like San Marco, and a lot of people can use the name San Marco,” Soud said.

According to the Florida Secretary of State’s Office, the name Whiteway Corner was first incorporated in 1926, about nine months before the delicatessen. The name came from white streetlights that illuminated the area.

But Whiteway Corner Inc. was dissolved in 1943, while the restaurant operated continually. Martin’s realty company trademarked Whiteway Corner in 2006, records show.

By then, the deli was a Riverside icon, said political consultant Bert Ralston,  who’s eaten at the Whiteway and known Salem at least 30 years.

“Even if he were forced to change the name ... it would be Whiteway for generations, and everyone would know what you’re talking about,” Ralston said. “Without Whiteway Delicatessen, the landlord never would have thought to name it Whiteway Corner.”

The case initially was assigned to County Judge Emmet Ferguson,  a regular Whiteway diner since middle school. He recused himself, and the case was reassigned to Higbee.

paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-05-28/story/iconic_whiteway_deli_moves_now_in_a_stew_over_name

[jason_contentdg]

New York Style Pizzeria's, you're on notice.

[reednavy]

This case will likeliy get dismissed. What a hose job he's trying to create.

[Jason]

Sounds like the bitter x.

[fsujax]

Interesting story. This should be cool to follow.

[civil42806]

"Apparently, George's schtick is to refuse to sign a lease longer than 12 or 24 months, while verbally promising all sorts of things, including that he'll fix the place up, and that the rent won't increase unreasonably despite his refusal to include an automatic renewal option at stated terms. Apparently some people are apparently dumb enough to fall for it. Then he doesn't do any of the promised maintenance, and when the renewal comes around, he conveniently 'forgets' the earlier conversations and tries to jack the rent sky-high. And by sky-high, I mean REALLY sky-high. We're talking $4k/$5k a month for  those little 900 sq-ft storefronts, when the original rent was $2k'ish."


What fool of a business owner uses oral agreements?  If your dumb enough to agree to sign an agreement  with a verbal, "I'll fix it later" yo get what you deserve.

[hanjin1]

Are you the owner of Whiteway Corner?

[tashi]

Has anyone been by Whiteway Corner lately? The whole area is looking blighted now with empty stores on the King Street side. The new Olives and Oils Gourmet Market is closing soon (they have been there for less than a year). After the market closes, there will be five empty stores. That place use to be full.

I have never heard anything positive about the landlord from previous renters. I have heard some pretty crazy things the landlord has done to them.

I wish Sam the best, he is really a kind person who cares deeply for our neighborhood.

[mtraininjax]

Good luck Sam, you run a good store and a good business. You shall prevail!

[Karl_Pilkington]

well Sam's got Tom Bishop who'll definitely crush this loser landlord and its in front of Judge Higbee who's not someone who plays around.  I suspect that there will be a fee demand once this case does get dismissed and ole George Martin will be stewing in his own empty bulding.

[civil42806]

"Apparently, George's schtick is to refuse to sign a lease longer than 12 or 24 months, while verbally promising all sorts of things, including that he'll fix the place up, and that the rent won't increase unreasonably despite his refusal to include an automatic renewal option at stated terms. Apparently some people are apparently dumb enough to fall for it. Then he doesn't do any of the promised maintenance, and when the renewal comes around, he conveniently 'forgets' the earlier conversations and tries to jack the rent sky-high. And by sky-high, I mean REALLY sky-high. We're talking $4k/$5k a month for  those little 900 sq-ft storefronts, when the original rent was $2k'ish."


What fool of a business owner uses oral agreements?  If your dumb enough to agree to sign an agreement  with a verbal, "I'll fix it later" yo get what you deserve.

Well thank god for the rest of us that neither the world nor the legal system work according to your Dickensian views. Verbal representations do mean something, especially where one party has detrimentally relied on that representation, or where the representation served as an inducement for the other party to enter the agreement. And in any event, I'm not sure why you have such an online love-affair with finding ways to blame victims for the acts of others. You ought to look for a new hobby...maybe get a boat, or take up golf or something.

And leaving that aside for the moment, the people in question aren't sophisticated Fortune 500 business-owners. You're talking about hair and nail salons, gift shops, and junk/antique stores. This isn't AT&T or Microsoft here. At the small-business level, many things get done based on verbal agreements and a handshake. This guy flat-out takes advantage of people.

Sorry but stand by my comment, if your foolish enough to enter into a verbal agreement you get what you deserve. Your a lawyer you know "get it in writing".  I don't care if your a fortune 500 or a mom/pops store.  Gird your loins and do it properly

[civil42806]

"Apparently, George's schtick is to refuse to sign a lease longer than 12 or 24 months, while verbally promising all sorts of things, including that he'll fix the place up, and that the rent won't increase unreasonably despite his refusal to include an automatic renewal option at stated terms. Apparently some people are apparently dumb enough to fall for it. Then he doesn't do any of the promised maintenance, and when the renewal comes around, he conveniently 'forgets' the earlier conversations and tries to jack the rent sky-high. And by sky-high, I mean REALLY sky-high. We're talking $4k/$5k a month for  those little 900 sq-ft storefronts, when the original rent was $2k'ish."


What fool of a business owner uses oral agreements?  If your dumb enough to agree to sign an agreement  with a verbal, "I'll fix it later" yo get what you deserve.

Well thank god for the rest of us that neither the world nor the legal system work according to your Dickensian views. Verbal representations do mean something, especially where one party has detrimentally relied on that representation, or where the representation served as an inducement for the other party to enter the agreement. And in any event, I'm not sure why you have such an online love-affair with finding ways to blame victims for the acts of others. You ought to look for a new hobby...maybe get a boat, or take up golf or something.

And leaving that aside for the moment, the people in question aren't sophisticated Fortune 500 business-owners. You're talking about hair and nail salons, gift shops, and junk/antique stores. This isn't AT&T or Microsoft here. At the small-business level, many things get done based on verbal agreements and a handshake. This guy flat-out takes advantage of people.

Sorry but stand by my comment, if your foolish enough to enter into a verbal agreement you get what you deserve. Your a lawyer you know "get it in writing".  I don't care if your a fortune 500 or a mom/pops store.  Gird your loins and do it properly

I guess I should clarify my comment, If everything people say about the landlord is true then he does seem to be a POS.  But good lord we are adults here aren't we, we enter into contractural agreements of our own free will.  Don't do verbal agreements all it does is feed the lawyers

[Ocklawaha]

WHITE WAY or WHITEWAY... HISTORY 101

"The Great White Way" was originally the title of a 1901 book about the South Pole. The term was used to describe Broadway Av, by Shep Friedman of the New York Morning Telegraph, after a snowstorm on Broadway in 1902 had turned the street into a "white way." Later, "white way" referred to the lights of Broadway.Then again in Iowa The Great Whiteway was the first improved river to river road across the state. Later Beach Blvd in Jacksonville was illuminated as dubbed as the Longest Whiteway In The South.



Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Building owner, but WHITEWAY or WHITE WAY is a type of historic road, one should be able to "own it" about as soon as my trademark on the word "Freeway" starts to pay some dividends. LOL. Start here and your attorneys should be able to find enough "Whiteways" to make for a very funny case at the expense of the other side.

OCKLAWAHA

[Lunican]

There are actually a couple articles that mention White Way:

Park & King Shopping District: Photo Tour
Located in the heart of the Riverside-Avondale Historic District, and once known as the Great White Way for it's rows of ornate street lights, the Park King Shopping District is now enjoying a period of revitalization as residents rediscover our unique districts of yesteryear.

A Walk through Park & King
The eclectic Park King Retail District sits in the heart of the Riverside/Avondale Historic District at the intersection of Park King Streets. Fresh off the heels of the completion of a $5 million streetscape renovation project, the retail district continues to attract new retailers and restaurants catering to the urban community surrounding the strip.

[Dog Walker]

For the historic minded:  George Martin is the son of Dr. Paul Martin who, along with Dr. Frank Fort, were the first orthopedic surgeons in Jacksonville and about the first in the State of Florida.  They were pioneers in the treatment of the after effects of polio and worked at the Hope Haven Children's Hospital which was the polio treatment center for all of South Georgia and North Florida.  Dr. Martin owned considerable pieces of land in Mandarin and Central Florida.  He was highly regarded in Jacksonville and well known in the orthopedic community nationwide.  He died when George was young.

George was educated as a CPA and has done mortgage investing here and especially in Atlanta, probably with inherited money.  He is not well regarded by anyone who has done business with him or who has known him for any period of time.  He dresses in the cheapest possible suits and ties that are seldom cleaned and has been looked on since his youth as someone who is strange and difficult.

Suing Sam over the name, Whiteway, is not surprising.  Mean, petty, miserly are all adjectives that have been used.