Wellington support is building for a Kilbirnie deli after McDonald’s objected to the name of its Toastie Takeover entry, the McReuben.
On Trays Scheckter’s Deli owner Steven Scheckter received a legal letter from McDonald’s representatives this week asking the business to stop using the name.
The sandwich was created for the McClure’s Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, with the “Mc” referring to McClure’s Pickles, not McDonald’s.
Takapū/Northern Ward Councillor Ben McNulty, posting from Kilbirnie, joked that he might be “McSued” for having McNulty as a surname.
“Talk about legal overkill,” he said.
McNulty said the team at On Trays Scheckter’s Deli were “amazing” and made one of the best Reuben sandwiches around.
Former Wellington mayor and Wellington Alive owner Justin Lester also backed the deli, saying Steven and Valda Scheckter had been feeding Wellingtonians for nearly three decades.
Lester said Scheckter’s Deli, which began in Brooklyn and has also operated in Petone and Johnsonville before its current Kilbirnie site, was one of Wellington’s lasting food institutions.
He said the deli’s Reuben sandwich was well regarded by locals, and questioned why McDonald’s had taken issue with the McReuben name when the sandwich was linked to McClure’s Pickles and not the fast food chain.
“Sure, companies have a right to protect their trademarks. But this feels less like sensible brand protection and more like a multinational picking a fight with one of Wellington’s most respected small businesses,” Lester said.
Scheckter has renamed the sandwich the MkReuben rather than fight the matter legally.
The MkReuben is available from On Trays Scheckter’s Deli in Kilbirnie.
