Sure, he directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, movies that received a small audience in limited release, and, sure, he also has that winery to relax and sip his way through life. But now, he's got a real crisis...at least according to his attorney.
A small Italian restaurant right here in Novato has dared to name itself "Tavola," which is Italian for "table." You'd think it would be a harmless play on words. It would be like if I opened up a soup restaurant in Italy and decided to name it "Bowl." Well, it turns out that Mr. "Loves the Smell of Napalm in the Morning" believes he owns the Italian word for table, Tavola, according to a recent article in our local paper you can find by clicking here.
Coppola is suing the family-owned restaurant for trademark infringement claiming he owns "A Tavola" due to his restaurants' style of serving in which "servers come to each table offering an assortment of family-style dishes," according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Um, do you think we should tell him that there are other restaurants out there in which servers "come to each table offering an assortment of family style dishes"...? He might be crushed to hear how the Grand Slam works at Denny's. ("You mean they come to your table and offer you breakfast and then they come back and bring it to you?!?!? Sue them!!! Sue them, too!!!")
So what is Mr. "Take the Gun and Leave the Cannoli" so worried about? "Customers and prospective customers of your restaurant are likely to be misled into believing that your goods and services originate from, are sponsored by, or are associated with Francis Ford Coppola Winery or even Francis Ford Coppola himself, when, indeed, they are not," said Coppola attorney Giselle Galper in the article.
The Pirraglia family, which owns the Novato restaurent with the horse's head on its pillow (Seriously, have you not seen the Godfather? These are golden references here!), declined to comment for the article. I suppose that's wise when a mega movie mogul and restauranteur with unlimited resources decides to sue you. Had they been able to comment, I wonder if they wouldn't have said something along the lines of, "Dude, we serve Italian food on tables, so we used the Italian word for table." Maybe I'm oversimplifying. But, I really find it hard to believe that this is all about the Pirraglia family's master plan to leverage the Coppola style of serving food (servers bring it to your table) to dominate the Italian scene in Novato.
I hadn't planned to eat at this restaurant as I usually cook my own Italian, but now I surely will. If my $6.95 for pasta will help them fight off a lawsuit from a big bully, I'll happily give it to them. I hope the Pirraglias are able to weather their way through this. They just better make sure they check behind the toilet in their restaurant before agreeing to meet with Coppola's attorneys. (Seriously, you haven't seen the movie?! That was a huge scene!)
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