A Taste of change for Joe's Wine Co

The Joe is gone at 113 Third Ave. 

As you can see, someone painted over the Joe's on the signage at the wine store between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

The shop is now going as Taste Wine Co. per Google ...

... and per a store receipt (an employee also confirmed the new name)...

As previously reported, Trader Joe's accused Joe's Wine Co., which opened in November, of violating the grocery chain's intellectual property rights. 

Per Supermarket News: 

Trader Joe's alleges that Joe's Wine Co. originally used a circular logo, color scheme, and wood paneling similar to the grocer's distinctive trademarks and aesthetic. After receiving notice of an impending lawsuit from Trader Joe's, Joe's Wine Co. removed its name and signage and assured Trader Joe's it would select a new name and branding, according to the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit states that, in mid-November, Joe's Wine Co. continued to use the name "Joe's Wine Co." and wood paneling similar to Trader Joe's. 

The business removed the signage in December, though it reappeared last month. The shop's interior is also free of any wood paneling or anything that would fall under the Trader Joe's "Trade Dress." Its website and Instagram account are no longer online. 

On Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Lewis L. Liman granted a permanent injunction against Joe's Wine Co. Per public documents (PDF here): 

The Trader Joe's Trademarks and Trader Joe's Trade Dress are valid and enforceable and have been infringed by Defendant. 

As of February 14, 2025, Defendant and its owners, managers, shareholders, representatives, officers, directors, agents, employees, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, and assigns, and all other persons acting in concert with any of them, are hereby permanently enjoined from infringing or diluting the Trader Joe's Trademarks and the Trader Joe's Trade Dress... 

Trader Joe's Wine Shop closed around the corner on 14th Street in August 2022. This was the only Trader Joe's Wine Shop in NYC and New York State. (New York State law limits corporations to one wine or liquor store.) Another Trader Joe's Wine Shop has yet to reopen. 

As for the former Joe's Wine Co. ... State Liquor Authority paperwork from July 2023 lists the ownership as Taste Wine LLC, a business previously located at 50 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street... (public records now list the name as Joe's Wine Inc.) 

Gary Landsman opened Taste Wine in 2015 before closing in May 2020 to focus on raising awareness and finding a treatment for the fatal genetic disease that his two young sons have. At the time, he said he was hopeful about selling the business. 

Taste Wine reopened in the fall of 2020 under new ownership before shutting down in early 2021 at 50 Third Ave., part of an assemblage that has since been demolished.