The beef between two local restaurant concepts just keeps getting juicier.
Andrew Weissman, owner of the Mr Juicy burger joints, last week received a cease-and-desist letter from local restaurant chain Longhorn Cafe. The letter ordered the chef to stop using the term "Mr. Juicy" and remove it from all internet listings and the signage at his two brick-and-mortar locations.
Longhorn Cafe — which operates multiple locations in and around SA — holds trademarks on the phrases “home of the original big juicy” and “original big juicy,” according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The phrases are in reference to 1/3-pound burgers on the Longhorn menu.
“Our friends over at longhorn cafe have pushed this frivolous lawsuit to the next level,” Weissman said in a tweet. “Here in its [sic] entirety is my attorneys [sic] response.”
Our friends over at longhorn cafe have pushed this frivolous lawsuit to the next level. Here in its entirety is my attorneys response. pic.twitter.com/Qoy15VlCTN
— Andrew Weissman (@AKWeissman) October 17, 2020
In the two page rebuttal, Weissman attorney Saul Perloff calls the motives behind Longhorn Cafe’s letter “meritless” and “unrealistic.”
In an interview with the San Antonio Business Journal, Perloff said that his defense of Mr. Juicy is based on the principle that no one can claim rights over descriptive words.
"You can't patent air," Perloff told the SABJ. "And you can't claim exclusive rights for a juicy burger.”
Mr. Juicy concepts currently occupy two spaces on McCullough Avenue, in the Monte Vista neighborhood. Both locations will be closed Monday for maintenance.
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