New York Water at Heart of Florida Lawsuits

Oct. 27, 2010— -- Want to know what makes New York bagels taste so good?

Local lore says the secret is in the city's drinking water. But to two Florida restaurants, the water-bagel connection is more than myth, it's the stuff that lawsuits are made of.

Convinced that New York City drinking water contributes to better baked goods, the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. of Delray Beach, Fla., and Mamma Mia's Trattoria & Brick Oven Pizzeria of Lake Worth, Fla., have locked horns in a legal battle over technology purported to "Brooklynize" water.

According to a document filed with the 15th Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, Fla., Brooklyn Water claims that through the purchase of baking equipment Mamma Mia misappropriated the company's trade secrets and confidential information for its own benefit.

In a countersuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Mamma Mia's says Brooklyn Water falsely advertises that it has a patent on the replication process, thereby deceiving the public and deterring competition.

Bagel Co. Investigated, Copied Composition of New York Water

"You've heard of the Coca-Cola formula? You've heard of the [Kentucky Fried Chicken's] 11 herbs and spices that's locked away under lock and key? Now you're hearing of our trade secret," said Ira Marcus, senior vice president and general counsel for the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co.

In 2007, Steven Fassberg, the company's president, CEO and founder, started investigating the composition of New York water, Marcus said.

"He knew that what was in the water made a difference as to making bread, bagels and pizza dough," Marcus said. "He thought that if he could understand how that all worked, we could use a process [so that] wherever we were locally, we could replicate an authentic New York bagel and, ultimately, pizza."

Marcus declined to elaborate on the water's composition, but said that certain elements in the typically soft New York water react especially positively with the yeast in the bread's recipe.

Once Fassberg and his team analyzed the water to identify those key elements, he said, they worked with a water treatment equipment manufacturer and, through trial and error, developed a process that consistently gives local water the same properties as New York water.

Companies Fight Over Water 'Brooklynizing' Tech

The method first purifies local water and then adds in the minerals that make the Big Apple's water unique, Marcus said.

"We opened up our business in August of 2009 and it became an instant phenomenon," he said.

Now, he said, the company has plans to open stores in Beverly Hills, Calif., Baltimore, Md. and other locations. Brooklyn Water recently signed retired CNN talk show host Larry King as a national spokesman and investor.

Although the company did not patent the "Brooklynizing" water process, Marcus said it was proprietary. So when a company insider -- Fassberg's father-in-law, Donald Kurtzer -- left the company and launched Famous New York Baking Water Corp., Brooklyn Water sued the company for misappropriation of proprietary and confidential trade secrets.

According to a July press release, Kurtzer's new company "duplicates the characteristics of New York water but in a healthier format."

Kurtzer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABCNews.com, but Marcus said that after its suit, Kurtzer entered into a consent permanent injunction preventing him from using or divulging Brooklyn Water's technology. A website formerly advertising New York Baking Water, www.newyorkbakingwater.com, is no longer in operation.

Pizzeria: Sales Doubled After 'New York' Water Used in Pies

But though Brooklyn Water may have been successful in shutting down its competitor, the company said its trade secret still got out and accused Mamma Mia's pizzeria of illegally using it.

Marcus said Mamma Mia's bought equipment from New York Baking Water, even though the pizzeria knew it had been sued by his company.

But Joe Lograsso, owner of Mamma Mia's, said he bought the equipment in April "in good faith to serve a better product to my customers."

Since installing the process in June, he said, pizza sales have doubled.

"My customers love it. The pizzas are coming out thinner and crispier and lighter," he said. "[It's] night and day."

John P. Kelly, Mamma Mia's attorney, said the components of Lograsso's water processing system are different from the ones used by Brooklyn Water. He also filed a countersuit claiming Brooklyn Water is improperly advertising the use of patents in producing its products.

What Makes New York Water So Special?

Marcus said the patent references in any Brooklyn Water promotional materials are truthful and has asked the court to dismiss Mamma Mia's suit. He told ABC News that Brooklyn Water does not claim that its entire "Brooklynizing" process is patented, but only that some of the equipment it uses to make the water is patented.

"What we're saying is there is no trade secret," Kelly said. "This is all information that is readily available on the Internet."

He also pointed out that Brooklyn Water is not the first non-New York-based company to promote New York water-infused baked goods.

According to the website for Grimaldi's Pizzeria, which started in New York but has spread to Texas, Arizona and other parts of the country, the company hired chemists to analyze and recreate the mineral content and composition of New York water.

"A custom water system pumping 'New York water' is installed in every Grimaldi's Pizzeria to ensure that the dough tastes as authentically New York as possible," Grimaldi's says on its website.

But what exactly is in this super special water?

Syed Rizvi, a professor of food processing engineering at Cornell University's Institute of Food Science, said that though he hasn't specifically analyzed New York drinking water, its salt composition is likely what contributes to its baking effects.

"Since water in New York comes from the lakes, they may have a different salt balance in them from the water in Florida," he said, adding that chemists could have analyzed the water and reproduced a formula with the same types and amounts of salt in it.

"Like the same way they found out what's in our sweat and then created Gatorade," he said.

Michael Saucier, a spokesman for the New York Department of Environmental Protection, said the city's water flows from upstate watersheds that New York City actively protects and maintains.

"The reason why it's pristine upstate is because one of the priorities for the city has been watershed protection," he said, adding that New York City is one of only five large cities in the country not required to filter drinking water. "We don't know if it's possible to truly replicate New York City's water but it's great that somebody is trying."