The owners of Longmont’s Cavegirl Coffeehouse want a district judge to block another eatery from opening its doors this fall in the Prospect neighborhood because its menu of paleo products, gluten-free baked goods and protein bites are too similar to Cavegirl’s.
A lawsuit filed in Boulder District Court claims that the Downtown Prospect Association — or DPA — violated an exclusivity agreement that granted Cavegirl a right to sell organic coffee, gluten free bakery products and paleo food products as primary menu items.
DPA’s Board for Directors violated that exclusivity agreement when it approved an application from Whole Sol to operate in Prospect this fall, the lawsuit states. Whole Sol’s online menu confirms that both organic coffee products, gluten-free baked products and bakery items are a significant part of its offerings, according to the lawsuit.
The owners of Cavegirl were never notified Whole Sol was applying to open in Prospect nor of a meeting to consider Whole Sol’s business application, the lawsuit states. DPA’s Community Manager Kellie McReynolds — in an email — acknowledge that in 2015, DPA did provide Cavegirl with an “exclusive right to sell freshly squeezed juice and vegetable drinks, organic tea, organic coffee, gluten free bakery products and paleo food products as primary menu items within Downtown Prospect,” the suit states.
McReynolds also said in the email that the DPA board approved Whole Sol’s application because it determined Whole Sol does not directly compete with Cavegirl, nor does it infringe on any of its “exclusive categories,” the suit states.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Cavegirl Coffeehouse LLC, Prospect Development Partners and Lori Abramson, the owners of Cavegirl. The attorneys for the plaintiffs could not be reached for comment.
They are asking a district judge to issue an injunction against DPA to require it to comply with the obligations of the exclusivity agreement and to forbid Whole Sol from opening.
If Whole Sol is allowed to open, Cavegirl “will sustain damages including but not limited to diminished business income and other financial losses,” according to the suit.
The defendants named in the lawsuit are Downtown Prospect Association, Inc, Whole Sol Longmont LLC, and Tenacity 4970 Holdings LLC. Downtown Prospect Association couldn’t be reached for comment. Messages were left at Whole Sol and Tenacity 4970 Holdings LLC and so far have not been returned.
