Whose recipe is it? Biba’s family sues Mattone restaurant for pilfering the chef’s legacy
The heirs to Biba, the iconic Italian bistro that was named for the late Biba Caggiano and was a Sacramento favorite for more than 30 years until closing in 2020, are suing former Biba employees who opened their own Italian restaurant, Mattone, in East Sacramento earlier this month.
Biba Restaurant Inc. filed its complaint in Sacramento County Superior Court on Monday citing six causes of action: false designation of association, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, and violation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, an unfair competition.
The complaint alleges that June Chang, a former Biba bartender who is now one of the owners of Mattone, had “informed” the Caggiano family in late 2020 that he was going to open a new Italian restaurant and call it Biba.
That had been the famed nickname of Benilde Caggiano, who came to Sacramento in the late 1970s with her oncologist husband Vincent Caggiano.
Biba Caggiano started out by giving Italian cooking lessons in her Fabulous 40s home and became a sensation by word of mouth in Sacramento. Soon she was on local TV as a celebrity chef. She was the author of Italian cookbooks that were love letters to her native Bologna cusine. Finally, she cemented her name as the luminous chef and proprietor of Biba Restaurant, which operated at the corner of 28th and Capitol Avenue from 1986 until 2020.
The lone woman at the top of the heap in a field of male Sacramento chefs, Biba Caggiano died at 82 in August 2019 after living with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The restaurant kept serving her fabulous dishes to packed a dining room until COVD-19 shut down Biba in March 2020.
Many of Biba’s employees, including the four named in the complaint, had worked under Biba Caggiano for years at what was arguably Sacramento’s most celebrated restaurant.
Chang was one of those employees and so was former general manager John Black, chef Karel Mulac and pastry chef Penny Sheridan. All cried together and posed for photographs in May 2020 when the Caggiano family informed its employees that Biba was closing.
The employees used to say they felt like Biba Caggiano’s extended family.
The lawsuit from Caggiano’s heirs proves otherwise.
What’s in a name and a recipe?
According to the complaint, the problems began when Chang approached the family to inform them that former Biba employees were joining forces to start a new Italian restaurant.
The suit states: “...The Caggiano family informed Mr. Chang that he could not use the Biba name, as Biba Restaurant has the exclusive right to use that name in connection with restaurant services...Mr. Chang then indicated that he would name the restaurant Benilde, which was actually (Biba) Caggiano’s given first name. The Caggiano family again voiced their objection and reiterated that Mr. Chang’s restaurant should be distinct from Biba. Mr. Chang eventually settled on the name Mattone Ristorante restaurant.”
The complaint says once Chang chose Mattone as the name of the new restaurant, “There were no further disputes between the Caggiano family and Mr. Chang.”
But the complaint says that changed on Feb. 10, 2021 when The Bee wrote about Mattone with the headline: “It’s back! Sacramento’s legendary Biba restaurant to get new life at key East Sacramento spot.”
The complaint makes an explosive allegation: “Biba Restaurant is informed and believes that The Sacramento Bee was intentionally misled into believing that an association exists between Biba Restaurant and Mattone Ristorante through statements that Mr. Chang made to The Sacramento Bee reporter.”
The complaint cites similar coverage by other Sacramento media outlets.
“Of course, the most recent news coverage has caused the Caggiano family significant distress,” the complaint says.
“Not only have the Defendants misappropriated Ms. Caggiano’s name and created a false designation of association between their new venture and Biba Restaurant, but the Defendants have also stolen Biba Restaurant’s trade-secret recipes, including her treasured Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese. In fact, Mattone Ristorante’s menu is nearly identical to Biba.”
Pizza, pasta and public dispute
Larry Kazanjian, a Sacramento lawyer representing Chang and Mattone, disputed these claims in a June 8 letter to the Caggianos’ attorney.
“Mr. Chang has nothing for which to apologize,” Kazanjian wrote. “He has not made any representations to any source that Mattone is somehow associated with Biba Restaurant, other than the obvious and factually accurate acknowledgment that ownership and staff are former Biba disciples.”
Of the allegations that Mattone are stealing Biba’s trade secrets, Kazanjian wrote: “You assert that Mattone should not use the same or similar recipes as those used by Biba. Of course, if that were the case only one Italian restaurant could exist in Sacramento. The absurd restriction on serving ‘similar’ dishes would preclude any other restaurant from serving pizza, pasta and the like. Italian food restaurants all serve similar dishes each with their own subtle differences.”
Vincent Caggiano, who was married to Biba for 59 years, is nearing 90 and in frail health.
Biba and Vincent Caggiano have two adult daughters, Paola McNamara and Carla Elkins.
In the complaint against Mattone and the former Biba employees, Biba Restaurant Inc. seeks general damages, consequential damages, exemplary damages, restitution, injunctive relief, pre-judgment interest at the legal rate, post-judgment interest at the legal rate, attorney’s fees and further relief “as the court deems just and proper.”
In the letter Chang’s lawyer warned: “Litigation in this matter would no doubt become a matter of public display. We believe the Sacramento food and wine community would look with disdain upon the family’s attempt to put a stranglehold on Mattone and its owners and staff.
“Mr. Chang and the former employees of Biba restaurant have the utmost respect and reverence for Biba and her legacy. They learned at her feet and have now embarked on their own endeavor.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
