Restaurant name lawsuits

Crains wrote:Dog vs. Dawg fight over restaurant name goes to court
By: Lorene Yue June 24, 2009

In the dog-eat-dog restaurant business, SuperDawg Drive-In Inc. is taking a similarly named New York City eatery to court.

The owners of the iconic Northwest Side hot dog stand filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Chicago against restaurateur Danny Omari, who had been preparing to open SuperDog on a popular restaurant row in Greenwich Village....

Crains wrote:In-N-Out Burger sues over S. Side shop's logo, name
By: Lorene Yue July 01, 2009

A Bronzeville restaurant has run afoul of In-N-Out Burger for using a name and logo that the popular California-based burger chain says is a little too familiar.

Nicky’s In-N-Out Inc. at 4240 S. Wentworth Ave. was sued Monday in federal court in Chicago for infringing on In-N-Out Burger’s trademark and for false advertising. The California chain, which has 232 restaurants in four Western states, wants a judge to order Nicky’s In-N-Out to stop using the name and signage, and determine whether the Bronzeville restaurant has illegally profited from its actions....

News accounts failed to note that Hamdi Sughoyl, owner of the Bronzeville place, has also appropriated the "Nicky's" name. Although I'd guess that's not trademarkable, given how many unaffiliated Nicky's there are around Chicagoland.

Hi,

I just passed on Laramie recently a stand called: In and Out.

The south side business culture (and some parts of NW Indiana), there is quite a bit of imitation of business models down to the variances on a successful name. There is JJ Fish and Chicken, but many SS variations with the signage looking almost exactly alike. The steak and lemonade stands are hot and heavy with nearly the same menu and a few popular names. Rene G has been documenting these for years.

Wasn't the Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles had an imitator open on the southside. Recalling the culture there, I'll bet the Chicago owner never dreamed of being challenged.

Driving through the Lawndale neighborhood a few years ago, I was pleased to see a homemade shaved ice stand on the curb. It was conducted like a kid's lemonade stand, instead it was staffed by adults. I made a mental note about driving back, then I saw another and then many others. It seemed like someone had a clever idea, which was quickly diluted by all the competition. Unlike some Mexican shaved ice vendor who concoct their own flavors, the Lawndale ices were pretty much standard commercial flavors.

In NW Indiana, the Lincoln Submarine has quite a saga with several shops doing a play on the name Lincoln. The best is Lincoln O's, who began the whole Lincoln cycle. You can read about Lincoln submarine history.

Michael's hot dog stand in Highland Park began with the name Nathan's. That was short lived until they got the cease and desist letter in the mail.

Mike Sula's of The Reader had a blog piece about two nearby restaurants who had nearly identical menus. In the segment I read, he had some theories about how this came about without revealing his thoughts yet.

Yeah, stuff like grabbing a successful business name or model goes on all the time.

Regards,

LAZ wrote:

Crains wrote:In-N-Out Burger sues over S. Side shop's logo, name
By: Lorene Yue July 01, 2009

A Bronzeville restaurant has run afoul of In-N-Out Burger for using a name and logo that the popular California-based burger chain says is a little too familiar.

Nicky’s In-N-Out Inc. at 4240 S. Wentworth Ave. was sued Monday in federal court in Chicago for infringing on In-N-Out Burger’s trademark and for false advertising. The California chain, which has 232 restaurants in four Western states, wants a judge to order Nicky’s In-N-Out to stop using the name and signage, and determine whether the Bronzeville restaurant has illegally profited from its actions....

News accounts failed to note that Hamdi Sughoyl, owner of the Bronzeville place, has also appropriated the "Nicky's" name. Although I'd guess that's not trademarkable, given how many unaffiliated Nicky's there are around Chicagoland.

So according to Crain's, Bronzeville extends west of the Dan Ryan? I thought 43rd & Wentworth is in Fuller Park. Regardless of Nicky's neighborhood, I'm surprised it took this long for them to get sued. I stopped by, curious to see if they serve a Big Baby, and was shocked by the blatant use of In-N-Out's logo. Such theft is a time-honored tradition among small South Side fast food joints but Nicky's is messin' with the big boys. I'm no lawyer but I can't imagine they stand a chance.











Though the Big Baby is not found on their menu board or printed menu, it's advertised on a separate wall poster. I noticed it too late and instead tried Nicky's rendition of a Philly steak. In the world of Chicago-style Philly steaks I'd rank it near the bottom. Really not worth eating or discussing.



Nicky's In-N-Out Gyros
4240 S Wentworth Av
Chicago
773-548-8500

Cathy2 wrote:I just passed on Laramie recently a stand called: In and Out.

I think that In & Out on Laramie is more a convenience store than restaurant. Also I don't think they're dumb enough to steal the bent yellow arrow. There's another (unrelated I think) In & Out market on Ogden near Central Park.

Rene G wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I just passed on Laramie recently a stand called: In and Out.

I think that In & Out on Laramie is more a convenience store than restaurant. Also I don't think they're dumb enough to steal the bent yellow arrow. There's another (unrelated I think) In & Out market on Ogden near Central Park.

It was 4:30 AM when I passed it quickly. I assumed, incorrectly, it was a hamburger stand.

Regards,

Does In N Out burger use the name "Big Baby" to describe a menu item? I thought the only place I'd hear such terminology was in Chicago.

And of course, the jazz geeks on this site are wondering if tenor man Joe Henderson is next on the list to get subpoenaed.

Rene G wrote:I'm surprised it took this long for them to get sued. I stopped by, curious to see if they serve a Big Baby, and was shocked by the blatant use of In-N-Out's logo. Such theft is a time-honored tradition among small South Side fast food joints but Nicky's is messin' with the big boys. I'm no lawyer but I can't imagine they stand a chance.

Here is Nicky's exterior after the settlement.



Inside, the carpet with the In-N-Out logo is gone but the neon arrow remains on their menu board. Maybe they get to keep it because it's white, not yellow.

sofrito wrote:Does In N Out burger use the name "Big Baby" to describe a menu item? I thought the only place I'd hear such terminology was in Chicago.

To the best of my knowledge the California-based In-N-Out has never used the name Big Baby. I believe you are correct that the term is specific to a limited part of the Chicago area.

Chicago Expat wrote:And of course, the jazz geeks on this site are wondering if tenor man Joe Henderson is next on the list to get subpoenaed.

Again, I'm no lawyer, but I think Mr Henderson's estate will be safe until they decide to sell hamburgers (or maybe reissue one of his albums as Double Double Rainbow).

It seems that Nicky's and the bent yellow arrow go way back in Chicago. I'd forgotten about this old sign at 79th & Western.



Nicky's Family Restaurant
"Serving Ham Off the Bone Since 1967"
7829 S Western Av
Chicago
773-778-2863

The Sun-Times reports that Superdawg won its court fight.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1780 ... 20.article

While name infringement should be fairly easy to prove, certain images might be less so. Take for instance the big red "W" that is Wally's trademarked symbol. McDonald's took them to court maintaining that their red "W" was just an inverted version of McDonald's big yellow "M". Adding insult to injury was the fact that Wally's few locations (at one point they had two or three outposts; I believe the Park Ridge location is the only one remaining) always managed to be within a few hundred feet of a McDonald's.

Big Mac took 'em to court and lost. Now, as you head west on Oakton, approaching Northwest Highway, there it sits, Wally's "W", grabbing your eye and pulling it away from the those poor put upon golden arches...

Buddy

Wally's
1006 N. Northwest Highway
Park Ridge, IL 60068
(847) 825-2214‎

McDonald's
Seriously? Do you really
need an address to
find one of these?