Sure, imitation’s the sincerest form of flattery or whatever, but if you’re in the burgeoning business of street-food ripoffs lately, it’s also a terrific way to get your fraudulent falafel-vending business sued: The ever-expanding Halal Guys slapped copycat vendors Moustafa El Nagar and Moustafa Attalla with a lawsuit last week seeking unspecified damages, after discovering they were operating gyro carts with the very Mister Softee-like move of adding “of New York” to the end of “the Halal Guys.” The logo is also “substantially indistinguishable” from theirs, they claim in the suit, adding they caught one lurking down the street from their brand-new brick-and-mortar spot on 14th Street, enough confusion to put the “goodwill and reputation of the Halal Guys … at stake.” [NYDN]
