A small California eatery poked fun at a popular fast food chain that issued a cease-and-desist order over two trademarked items they argued the sports bar copied.
Fairplay Sports Bar celebrated National Cheeseburger Day on Sept. 18, mocking the legal notice they received from In-N-Out Burger ordering them to cease all use of two of their trademarked Double Double and Animal Fries — both of which are well-known staples on the burger chain’s menu.
“Cease & Desist what you’re doing right now, you’ve got to see this,” the San Diego restaurant wrote in a Facebook post with a marked up and redacted version of the letter.
“We’ve officially been recognized by Big Burger!”
While a legal notice would send most into panic, restaurant owner Shane Gerde said he was flattered to be recognized by In-N-Out, KUSI reported.
Gerde acknowledged that his menu items were “largely inspired” by the popular fast-food items of the same name, but also slightly different.
“We were just going for something to give guests an idea of what they were getting without much of a description and those things are hallmarks of Southern California,” Gerde told the outlet.
“They’re awesome dishes. It’s just a pumped up variation of what you might have done at a drive-thru restaurant, but instead you get to enjoy it in an atmosphere that’s a local neighborhood spot,” he said.
Recognizing In-N-Out has a brand to protect, Fairplay promptly renamed its menu items to Secret Menu Fries and Burger Burger but not before jokingly addressing the situation on social media.
“This feels like the perfect time to pop In-N-Grab a Burger Burger & some Secret Menu Fries. Or double up! Sorry, we don’t mean to tell you what to order. We’re not animals…just not our style,” the post’s caption said.
Speaking only positively of his legal experience, Gerde said he has no animosity toward In-N-Out.
“We couldn’t have gotten a cease-and-desist from anybody better than In-N-Out,” Gerde told KUSI. “We were stoked to be recognized and happy to change the names.”
The Post reached out to Fairplay and In-N-Out for comment.
