About 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for Wegmans to shut down its Manhattan Fish Market following allegations of fraud, breach of contract and trademark infringement.
The retailer was hit with a lawsuit last week that claims its newly opened in-store fish market in Manhattan is a copy of Osakana, an existing fish and sushi restaurant in the East Village.
The Change.org petition, created by Osakana founder and owner Yuji Haraguchi, was first posted on January 19th. The petition currently has nearly 4,000 signatures with a goal of 5,000.
Last year, Haraguchi decided to sell Osakana, which opened in 2016. In his lawsuit, Haraguchi alleges that Karimor USA, Red Shell Sushi and Culinary Collaborations learned about secrets related to his business through its potential sale. He took those secrets to Wegmans, according to the complaint filed Feb. 20.
Located on Astor Place, a one-block street in Lower Manhattan, the 87,500-square-foot Wegmans store is a seafood concept called Sakanaya, an authentic Japanese-style fish market featuring fresh fish from Toyosu Fish. The store opened in October. Japanese market. Wegmans' first omakase experience (course sushi) is also available.
Haraguchi said Wegmans sells fish from the same suppliers it uses in Japan. And even the name of Wegmans Fish Market is confusing. Mr. Haraguchi's business, Osakana, is the Japanese word for fish market.
“Wegmans has a social responsibility to coexist with so many small businesses in our neighborhood. We can't just copy and paste. That's ethically wrong,” Haraguchi said. supermarket news.
“My biggest worry is how far I can go,” he added. “I feel like I have to fight as long as I have to, but there’s only so much I can do.”
Osakana is not the first business venture in New York for the 43-year-old Haraguchi, who is also the founder of two restaurant concepts: Okonomi and Yuji Ramen.
Haraguchi said he had been planning to sell Osakana to retire to Hawaii with his family. That plan is currently on hold due to the opening of Wegmans Fish Market.
Wegmans did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the lawsuit.
