Rolex has a beef with a Brooklyn deli.
The maker of luxury watches apparently is afraid its customers might confuse its products, which sell for thousands of dollars, with the $5.99 pastrami sandwiches offered at Fort Greene’s Rolex Deli.
And the Swiss company has made a federal case of it, by filing a trademark-infringement suit.
Shawqu Ali, a father of seven, said he named his business Rolex Deli because “it’s a name that is associated with quality and prestige” — adding he was proud to be wearing what he described as a “Rolex” on his wrist.
“Of course, it’s real,’’ said Ali, who had clearly swallowed the baloney dished out by a street vendor.
“I paid $200 for it.’’
The corporation, whose watches range in price from $6,000 to $30,000, says Ali slapped the name on his Fulton Street awning — above the sign where he advertises “Grilled Sandwich, Coffee, Beer, Soda” — to confuse passers-by.
The name gives the “false impression that defendants and their services and goods are in some way affiliated with Rolex,” the Manhattan federal court suit says.
But any way you slice it, Ali can’t understand the giant company’s beef.
“There’s nothing Rolex-related on the menu,” he pointed out.
“Apparently, Rolex doesn’t know the difference between a sandwich and a watch. Regular people know the difference.”
He said the State Division of Corporations approved the name before he opened four months ago.
But Rolex is arguing in court papers that the delicatessen, which is sandwiched between a pharmacy and a clothing store, would “dilute the distinctiveness of the Rolex trademark.”
It wants Ali to change his deli’s name, pay unspecified damages and “immediately destroy any and all signs, posters, advertising, promotional or marketing materials or supplies” related to the name.
Ali vowed to fight.
“If I were to restart everything, including all of the licensing and adding a new facade and redoing the menus, it would cost me at least 30 grand,” he said.
“I cannot possibly afford this.”
And, he added, the dispute has soured him on the brand.
“I used to respect Rolex, but they are making me hate them,” he said. “I’ll have to sell my Rolexes now.”