Oct 22, 2019 4:20 PMThe Hamptons Standard opened in July in the converted former Friendly’s on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays, offering a full-menu restaurant, bar and market, all under one roof.
Business was off to a good start, but owner Salvatore Biundo recently decided to completely restructure the establishment and change its name, menu and interior — a decision he made while under the cloud of pending litigation.
Mr. Biundo and the Hamptons Standard are being sued over claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition by Standard International Management LLC, a New York City-based operator of hotels, bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the United States and London, including The Standard, High Line, a luxury boutique hotel in Manhattan.
The Standard in Manhattan launched in 1998 and has since then “developed and maintained a national reputation for high-quality goods and services” through its family of registered Standard marks, according to court documents.
The plaintiff filed a complaint in federal court on September 10 and requests a trial by jury, according to court documents. Mr. Biundo has yet to answer or make any motion regarding the summons or complaint, and he has until November 4 to do so.
“There is an active conversation going on with the Standard Hotel,” Jody Fisher, a spokesperson for Mr. Biundo, said. “We expect a positive outcome.”
The owner could not comment further given the pending litigation, so he did not disclose whether the lawsuit was the reason for making the upcoming changes to his restaurant.
In terms of the renovations, Mr. Biundo, who also owns the upscale Italian restaurant Centro Trattoria and Bar farther west on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays, decided to close the Hamptons Standard for several weeks and reopen in early November. The coffee area will remain open during the renovations, so customers are still welcome to stop in.
“We were open a couple of months and the menu wasn’t where I wanted it to be, so I’m going to refocus it on what I know best, which is casual Italian,” he said, adding that he wants the establishment to have more of a relaxed, community feel than it did.
The menu originally offered an assortment of American dishes at moderate prices, including some quirky options, like blue-colored pancakes. Mr. Biundo is making the new menu solely Italian comfort food at affordable price points that will cater more toward a family or group of friends, he said.
The name will change to Salvatore’s, and the interior will be redesigned to include a wood-burning pizza oven, a new seating layout and other cosmetic alterations.
“I wasn’t seeing families. It’s not where I wanted it to go,” Mr. Biundo said. “Growing up as a kid, every Sunday, no matter what time, who was there, everyone got around the table, and it was a casual thing. It was like a big dish of pasta, it was homemade pizza, whatever it may be … And I want it to be a community base so everybody comes together in a family way.”
The restaurant section of the building closed on Wednesday, October 16. Constructing the wood-burning oven inside will take up the most time, the owner said. “We kept it open for the season, and now that all the chaos is gone, I have time to revamp it,” he added.
The Hamptons Standard opened over the summer on Montauk Highway around the idea of “filling a void in our local community,” according to its website. Its diverse menu and different sections — it had a bar, coffee station, grab-and-go marketplace and sit-down restaurant — allowed it to have something for everyone.
But the void was not entirely filled, Mr. Biundo soon realized, and he is hoping that Salvatore’s will pick up the challenge.
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It all seems unfair, unless one is familial with Intellectual Property law and understand that if a business does not protect its "brand," then it lapses into common usage and anyone can use it.