Menu Feud Continues To Simmer Finnerty’s Opens Amid Litigation Over Recipes

At Finnerty’s at the Arena, the prime rib is “slow-roasted under a mountain of rock salt,” its menu says.

Just two blocks away at Clinkerdagger Restaurant, the menu offers prime rib that is “roasted very slowly under a mountain of rock salt.”

That’s the kind of similarity that steamed Clinkerdagger’s owners enough to file a lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court this month alleging theft of recipes.

Clinkerdagger’s parent company, Restaurants Unlimited, claims two of its former employees stole a recipe book and used it to develop Finnerty’s menu.

Finnerty’s at the Arena served its first meals Monday night.

Tom Finnerty, who owns the restaurant with his brother Brian, said the lawsuit’s accusations are ridiculous.

The prime rib recipe came from Jake O’Shaughnessy’s, a Seattle restaurant that went out of business, he said, adding that people have cooked prime rib that way for years.

“When you cook something in a certain way, you want to describe it to your customers that way,” Finnerty said. “Nine million restaurants do it that way.”

Maybe so, officials at Clinkerdagger’s said, but in Spokane, it’s one of their signature items.

“I would say it’s one of the menu items we’re best known for and have been for the past 22 years,” said Attila Szabo, general manager of Clinkerdagger.

Five of the eight appetizers on Finnerty’s menu are offered by Clinkerdagger. Though such appetizers as chicken wings and shrimp cocktail are found anywhere, hot dungeness crab appetizer and seared teriyaki tenderloin tips - listed on both restaurants’ menus - are less common.

The new Finnerty’s is at Boone and Howard, just north of Clinkerdagger in the Flour Mill shopping center. The Finnerty brothers also own Finnerty’s Red Lion Sports Bar and Barbecue at 126 N. Division.

Thomas Theisen, an attorney for Restaurants Unlimited, which operates 26 restaurants nationwide, said the dispute centers around the company’s recipe books that contain about 1,000 recipes developed over the past 20 years.

“It’s not so much the menu we’re concerned about,” Theisen said. “It’s the recipes.”

Not all restaurateurs guard recipes so aggressively.

In downtown Spokane, Rock City Grill owner Jim Rhoades is planning to trademark four sauce recipes so they can’t be duplicated. But Beverly’s Restaurant in Coeur d’Alene gives its recipes to any customer who asks - except for its signature orange rolls.

One thing most restaurateurs agree about: It’s impossible to keep good recipes secret.

“With the number of employees and the turnover, it’s hard to keep your trade secrets secret,” Rhoades said.

Also, said Jerry Hill, general manager of C.I. Shenanigan’s in Spokane, people in the restaurant business take notes everywhere they go, searching for new menu ideas.

“Everybody borrows ideas from restaurants all over the country,” Hill said.

Officials at Restaurants Unlimited say their dispute with Finnerty’s goes beyond borrowing an idea or two. They plan to seek a court order to prevent Finnerty’s from operating.

Finnerty’s head chef, who wrote the new restaurant’s menu, worked at Clinkerdagger for nearly five years. Tom Finnerty said the chef’s expertise naturally reflects his experience at other restaurants, including Clinkerdagger.

“These guys claim proprietary rights on something that’s impossible to claim,” Finnerty said.

One item Restaurants Unlimited claims Finnerty’s duplicated is “New York Steak with Port Antonio Butter.” Port Antonio is a city in Jamaica and Restaurants Unlimited officials said the term was coined for a Jamaican theme promotion.

In a rough draft of Finnerty’s menu, included among court documents, one selection was named “Top Sirloin with Port Antonio Butter.”

But when Finnerty’s opened this week, that item wasn’t on the menu. Instead, the restaurant offers “Top Sirloin with Jamican (sic) Jerk Butter.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: DOUBLE TAKE Of eight appetizers on Finnerty’s menu, five are offered by Clinkerdagger. Clinkerdagger’s “Hot Dungeness Crab Appetizer” combines “dungeness crab, artichoke hearts and Parmesan spread served with fresh-baked bread and fresh lemon.” It costs $7.50. Finnerty’s “Dungeness Crab Appetizer” is made of “dungeness crab, artichokes, onions, and fresh Parmesan cheese, baked till golden brown. Served with a fresh baguette.” It also costs $7.50. Clinkerdagger’s “Seared Teriyaki Tenderloins” are “tender filet mignon slices. … flash-seared golden brown. Garnished with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.” The price: $5.95. Finnerty’s “Tenderloin Bits” is “sliced tenderloin, pan seared in a teriyaki sauce. Topped with green onion blossoms and sesame seeds.” It costs $6.50.