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Fight that shut down Clifton street involved business dispute over hot dogs. What happened

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Fight that shut down Clifton street involved business dispute over hot dogs. What happened

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CLIFTON — Hot dogs are at the heart of a fight that shut down Van Houten Avenue on Thursday night, police said.

Officers responded to the 700 block of Van Houten at about 8 p.m. on a report of a fight between the owners of Jumbo’s Italian Ices and the owner of The Original Jumbos. Both locations sell hot dogs.

Police said on one side of the physical altercation was a 74-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman from Woodland Park who own Jumbo’s Italian Ices, and on the other, the 63-year-old owner of The Original Jumbo’s, a former Clifton resident who lives in Seaside Park.

No arrests were made and no charges were filed against the parties, said the city police department’s public information officer, Lt. Robert Anderson. All parties were referred to the courts for possible complaint signing, Anderson said.

The owners have had a contentious relationship for two years since Dave Martina, the owner of The Original Jumbo’s, opened his hot dog stand across the street from Jumbo’s Italian Ices. Shortly after Martina opened his business a van crashed into it, shutting it down for several months. The accident was not connected to the dispute.

The feud escalated in recent weeks, Martina said, after he told the Italian ice owners to remove their Sabrett hot dog sign. Martina, who makes hot dog carts for the Sabrett hot dog company, said he has exclusivity on the name.

Things came to a head Thursday night when Martina said he was videotaping the exterior of Jumbo Italian Ices from the street for proof he intends to use in a legal fight to get the owners to remove the name Jumbo from their store.

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“I own the name,” Martina said. The owner of Jumbo Italian Ices could not be reached for comment.

The owners of the Jumbo Italian Ices came out when they saw Martina making a recording of their business and that’s when the fight took place, authorities.

Anderson confirmed the ambulance squad responded and treated two individuals for minor injuries at the scene as they refused transport to a hospital.

Both sides told police the fight was a result of an ongoing business dispute, said Anderson. He said the dispute began as a verbal one and escalated to a physical one.

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