NYC coffee shop says PacSun used cafe’s image on T-shirt without permission
They’ve got grounds to be mad.
A small Brooklyn coffee shop says a big chain retailer took an image of their flower-adorned storefront without their permission and sold it on a T-shirt — and now they want in on the clothing windfall.
An image that looks uncannily like Caffe de Martini in Prospect Heights — complete with its signature bougainvillea vine — is being sold on a “Baby T” by the California-based apparel company PacSun, owner Stefano de Martini told The Post.
“It’s kind of weird they have to make money on us without our permission,” de Martini said. “Someone is selling a T-shirt with our brand on it.”
The shirt, which costs $19.50 on the company’s website, is listed as an “LA Italia Cafe Baby T-Shirt” and features a Vespa parked outside a shop with a red flower vine above its door, a narrow staircase and a white “cafe” sign.
While its not confirmed PacSun lifted the store’s look, De Martini — who co-owns the Italian-inspired neighborhood favorite with wife Camila Soto — said the shirt features too many similarities to simply be a coincidence.
“Clearly it’s our store,” he said of the Vanderbilt Avenue coffee shop. “They changed the color but the flowers, the stairs and the awning really look alike. We are unique in our shape.”
“I also have a white vespa and I park it in front of the store,” said De Martini, who was born in Italy.
De Martini first learned of the T-shirt when regulars who assumed he’d been in on the project “congratulated” him on it earlier this month.
“I was like ‘What? For real?’” he said. “It was definitely surprising.”
De Martini said photos of his shop — whose unique aesthetics were created by Soto, a graphic designer by trade — have garnered a lot of social media attention in recent months, and the clothing company likely noticed it.
“A lot of people were reposting our storefront. An artist painted it. It’s not uncommon that people know us on social media, so it’s hard to believe a company like that didn’t see [those photos].”
De Martini said he has no problem with people like artists using the storefront’s likeness if they give the shop proper credit.
He said he has since reached out to PacSun with the hope of “collaborating” and earning a percentage of profits from the T-shirt.
“Put us on the T-shirt for real. Say it’s my store — that would be nice,” he said.
But some neighbors were steaming that the beloved coffee shop didn’t get credit for the T-shirt design, and made it their mission to prove the firm had allegedly lifted the image.
On a Prospect Heights Facebook group, one resident pointed out nine details — including the railing placement, the shop’s molding and sign location — that she said showed the image had been “traced” from a photo of the storefront
“It’s not just the flowers, all of this is too specific to be a coincidence,” she wrote.
As of Friday, the T-shirt was listed as “sold out.”
“Indulge in European charm,” the company wrote in a description of the clothing item. “This stylish tee features a cropped silhouette and a charming café-inspired graphic, perfect for adding a touch of continental flair to your ensemble.”
PacSun didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
