Duvall man agrees to rename café

Mooray, anyone?

The name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue of Mike Snow, owner of Moonray Espresso in Duvall. But he's open to suggestions.

Snow has to rename his coffee shop as part of a legal deal reached last month between him and Portland-based Moonstruck Chocolate, a national chocolatier that sued Snow in January claiming trademark infringement.

The company argued that Moonray's name and logo were created deliberately to confuse the public "for the purposes of profiting from and hijacking the goodwill of Moonstruck," according to the lawsuit. Local residents rallied behind the café with fundraisers and petitions after word of the lawsuit spread.

Snow and Moonstruck officials say they can't discuss details of the settlement, citing a confidentiality provision.

"It is an agreement we are both happy with," said Darin Linnman, spokesman for Moonstruck. He declined further comment.

One thing that is clear: The Moonray moniker has to go. Snow took down his www.moonrayespresso.com Web site and temporarily closed the Main Street shop earlier this month to figure out his next step.

He's batting around some ideas for names; "Mooray" is one that's crossed his mind. "I'll definitely stay away from the words 'moon' and 'struck.' "

And he's leaning toward a scaled-back operation — perhaps a kiosk-type java hut — focusing primarily on coffee drinks.

But the truth is, he said, the espresso shop's future doesn't look promising. Proving more troubling than a lawsuit is a new drive-through Starbucks that opened three miles away. The competition has slashed Moonray's profit margin in half, Snow said.

As a first-time small-business owner, Snow said he's become more than a little demoralized by this venture.

"The legal battle took my attention away from making this place what I wanted it to be," he said. "It feels, in a way, like a failure. At the same time, I don't want to concede. So we'll see what happens."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com