Recipes Stolen, Restaurant Says

SPOKANE - The owners of one Spokane restaurant are suing another, contending theft of a recipe book.

The menu for defendant Finnerty's at the Arena says its prime rib is "slow-roasted under a mountain of rock salt."

At nearby Clinkerdagger, the menu says its prime rib is "roasted very slowly under a mountain of rock salt."

The lawsuit by Restaurants Unlimited, parent of Clinkerdagger, contends two former employees stole a recipe book and used it to develop Finnerty's menu. Finnerty's head chef worked at Clinkerdagger for nearly five years.

Tom Finnerty, a co-owner of the new restaurant, says the prime rib recipe actually came from Jake O'Shaughnessy's, a Seattle restaurant that has since gone out of business.

That doesn't placate Clinkerdagger general manager Attila Szabo, who said his prime rib is a signature item.