The Israeli eatery chain, Beit HaPancake Hamikori (Original Pancake House), is facing a 2.5 million shekel lawsuit, alleging serious consumer deception regarding the syrup served with their famous dishes.
The suit, which was submitted to the District Court, focuses on the essential difference between the natural product and the industrial imitation.
The claimant, represented by Adv. Eyal Blizovsky claims that the chain presents the syrup as "maple," whereas it is in fact a maple-flavored substitute, not the natural syrup derived from maple trees.
The suit estimates that thousands of diners have been misled over the years and are entitled to compensation for the gap in product quality and its perceived price.
The owner of the chain, Sharon Edri, reacted with great frustration to the legal action, stressing the economic difficulties the business experienced during the war.
"We never encountered any complaints from a customer who asked, 'Why isn't your maple pure?' We never encountered something like this. The sauce is served as part of the dish for no extra charge. It's served on the side, for no extra charge," Edri told Kan News.
According to the owner, the diner demanded compromises of thousands of shekels and refused any sensible offers. "For what and why? This lawsuit comes at a time when we're in distress. I have employees whom I pay, and I took loans, and we have to deal with this. He thinks that I'm some tycoon; we're a business with four branches."
Adv. Blizovsky responded: "This is blatant deception. The customer was deceived by the pancake house, where he dined from time to time, into thinking that this was 'maple syrup.' There is an injustice, and there's a consumer phenomenon that needs to be dealt with, and they must compensate a large group of people who were hurt."