Brixx nixes Brix: Decade-old eatery forced to change name
“I’ve spent all these years building my name in Charlottesville," says former "Brix" Terrace Caf© owner Karen Laetare, "and then this franchise just shows up out of nowhere.”FILE PHOTO BY WILL WALKER
Since 1999, local foodies have associated the name "Brix" with chef/owner Karen Laetare's Mediterranean-inspired California cuisine, first at Brix Marketplace on Route 50, and then at Brix Terrace Caf© in the Pantops Shopping Center.
But on April 1, Laetare was forced to stop using the name “Brix” or face legal action from a budding North Carolina-based franchise moving to town this summer. While she’s been allowed to keep her website address– www.brixcafe.com–- her restaurant is now called The Terrace Caf© on the website.
“We hate doing this, but our hands are tied,” claims Barbara Morgan, a partner with Brixx: Wood Fired Pizza, which plans to open its first Virginia store in the old Boston Market space in Barracks Road Shopping Center. “We own the name and have a legal obligation. You can’t use a name people own.”
Brixx opened its first restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1998, less than a year before Laetare opened Brix Marketplace, and now has 13 restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Not quite a Pizza Hut-sized franchise, but online records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office suggest how the Brixx Pizza chain found a way to get the corporate name it wanted.
“Brix” was registered by a Napa Valley restaurant under Yountville Partners Inc. on June 10, 1997, while Laetare registered “Brix Marketplace” on December 25, 2001. However, under corporate name New South Pizza Inc., the pizza company allegedly purchased the rights to the name from Yountville Partners on November 8, 2005.
“I’ve spent all these years building my name in Charlottesville, and then this franchise just shows up out of nowhere,” says Laetare. “But I can’t afford to put my money into this fight.”
Indeed, local trademark law expert Sheldon Parker says that keeping the cost of litigation like this under $100,000 would be “very difficult," as just the initial discovery phase would probably cost Laetare $25,000 in the first few weeks.
Typically, trademark rights are determined by "first use," which can even override federal registration in some cases, says Parker. But in this case, the first user of "Brix" isn't making a claim; the company that allegedly bought the rights to it after Laetare began using it is. In addition, according to Parker, the fact that Laetare has been using the name for so long without a challenge would weigh in her favor.
“What do you think a local judge would say about a franchise coming to town and trying to take it away from her? " says Parker. " Eleven years is a long time. I would expect the courts to give her the right to use it in this geographic area.”
Attempting to claim exclusive national rights to a name also involves more that just registering the trademark, Parker explains. Just because someone registers 'Market Street Pizza' first doesn't mean they can go around the country demanding that every Market Street Pizza change their name. A company must prove that the name has a "secondary meaning" for consumers, meaning the name is widely known by consumers to be associated with your particular company. An attorney could argue that Laetare's Brix is more widely know by consumers in Central Virginia than Brixx Wood Fired Pizza.
Unfortunately, Parker says, the side with "deeper pockets" often forces its opponent to drop out before such cases ever get to court.
“It makes me sick,” says Laetare. “They don’t even use the essence of what ââ?¬Ë?brix’ means, and they don’t even spell it right.”
Laetare says the name comes from the ââ?¬Ë?Brix scale,’ an old wine-making term named after the inventor of a system for measuring the sugar content of grapes and wine. In contrast, she says, the fledgling pizza chain simply wants to call attention to its “brick” pizza ovens. (Laetare's Terrace Caf© also has a grilled pizza menu.)
“We hear it’s a great restaurant," says Morgan, "and we wish them the best.”
Despite the cordial words, Laetare hopes locals will support homegrown pizza restaurants like the Brick Oven in Rio Hill Shopping Center, the planned Fry’s Spring Station on JPA, and Rise PizzaWorks, which opened in the Barracks Road Shopping Center last October.
In protest, Laetare has flanked her new name with the first and last letters of her old name.
“I may have lost my R-I,” says Laetare, “but I still have my B-X.”
Updated 4/9/10 10:20am
57 comments
@yepper -- actually, "small minded & provincial" people wouldn't give a hoot about the treatment of a niche gourmet business like Brix.
That's because they'd be eating at Applebees, Red Robin, and Chilis -- which I assume is where YOU eat since you've never heard of Brix. Heck, a cheesy place like Brixx Pizza is probably right up your alley!
why not contact them...
http://www.brixxpizza.com/contact.aspx
@wilwonkawhatver : Yeah sure, fight on principal, because someone running an F & B biz has soooo much extra time on their hands...ust finish that 70-80 hour work week and then start learning to be a lawyer.
IN this case,the most important principal is likely they which the bank is standing on....
Crozettet,
There is no lack of competition in this area for restaurants and food joints. That seems to be about the only business model this area wants to subsidize at the expense of other businesses.
All that competition has done nothing. Most of the places are expenses and serve meh food with often snobby service. I can name on one hand the number of places I would eat, get something for my money, and service to match.
I feel badly for Karen because I think she has run a quality shop all along. I a not a lawyer, but I know that trademarking has its limitations, and I think she simply doesn't have the money to fight a large corporation.
Crikey, more pizza?in a town less than 200,000.
ex-NY'ers will get this...
Ray's Pizza,
Original Ray's,
Original Ray's Pizza,
The First Original Ray's...I think I missed a few.
Brix, Brixx, Bricks...ya'll r nuts!
May the best food win.
Now come out serving !
I predict locals will embrace Brixx the way they did Durango Bagels. Anyone remember them?
+1 to ****. morgan's a dingbat.
although i've always thought brix(x) was a stupid name.
didn't some place in NYC named crush threaten to sue our crush?
Exactly austro rather then fight she turned tail and ran. too bad so sad, where did I leave my box of tissues. if you cared that much you'd fight rather then kicking the dust and going "oh poor me". you're gona have to spend money either way and if you were smart you could use this to your advantage. But it doesn't appear Karen is smart or cares so oh well, who wants pizza
Welcome to Charlottesville Brixx. You have just given me a reason to never step into your restaurant before you have even opened. Too bad this can't go to court, but I'll do my part and never patronize their establishment. I'll be eating at the original Brix.
I'll Bring Her Some Cheese For Her Whine. Man Oh Man , competition only helps the consumer. This buy local (Pay-More) stuff has got to go .We all don't have deep pockets to spend a ton of jack for over price food in this town. Chains come and go, so do local places .Its kinda like evolution the strong survive.
Nice try, local-business-hater "Confused Easily." Go hug a mega-corp franchise while the rest of us have a lot more fun supporting the people who actually live around here.
Brixx handled this like any good business wouldââ?¬â??they’re simply protecting their franchise and brand. If the Cville Brix wanted to keep its name, they should have taken the necessary steps to protect the name”Šthey didn’t and now they suffer the consequences. That’s why we have laws. That’s why the owner of the Cville Brix isn’t fighting this case; she consulted an attorney and was told she doesnt have a case.
***
Umm, no. She was told that she did have a case but would have to spend a lot of money to pursue it.
Indeed, local trademark law expert Sheldon Parker says that keeping the cost of litigation like this under $100,000 would be ââ?¬Å?very difficult,” as just the initial discovery phase would probably cost Laetare $25,000 in the first few weeks.
Typically, trademark rights are determined by ââ?¬Å?first use,” which can even override federal registration in some cases, says Parker. But in this case, the first user of ââ?¬Å?Brix” isn’t making a claim; the company that allegedly bought the rights to it after Laetare began using it is. In addition, according to Parker, the fact that Laetare has been using the name for so long without a challenge would weigh in her favor.
ââ?¬Å?What do you think a local judge would say about a franchise coming to town and trying to take it away from her? ” says Parker. ” Eleven years is a long time. I would expect the courts to give her the right to use it in this geographic area.”
are people in Charlottesville really so small minded and provincial? Wow, she changed her name, big woop.... She doesn't seem too broken up about it and she's getting some press. Wouldn't be surprised if she picked up some new customers as a result.
I've never even heard of "Brix Terrace Cafe" before this story. And the chain shouldn't have anything to worry about by this boycott if they provide a quality product at a decent price.
People getting upset about this clearly don't have much going on in their lives.
"Brixx will do fine here in town. If you look around you see the suburban obesity everywhere, and the ââ?¬Å?big” crowd loves corporate food. The few of you that don’t visit the new Brixx will make no difference at all."
____
Ha, so true. The few self righteous, no matter how noble their cause, won't make a dent in things as much as their egos would like to think only because the fat do prevail, and they don't care who's making their food as long as it's plentiful and cheap.
But that's such a Charlottesville mindset though - people believing they matter more than they do. It's a personality side effect of money and a comfortable and/or affluent lifestyle. "Get over yourselves" is a phrase I find myself mumbling to myself a lot.
For myself, I won't be eating at Brixx only because Christian's is good enough for me. While I think it's ridiculous for a corporate chain to come barging in here, pushing around an established, local business owner, on the other hand my ego isn't so out of whack that I actually think my "boycott" will accomplish anything. Not when this is a college town full of hungry students and really fat people who love food.
Thank you, Hook, for covering this. Laws or not, it's pretty low of Brixx to force a locally-owned business to spend money on a name change when Laetare's restaurant's name wasn't even spelled the same way and didn't serve the same kind of food. I don't see what Brixx has to gain from this. Besides, there are plenty of similar restaurant names out there. We also have two sushi restaurants in here called Sakura.
I had been looking forward to another pizza place, but I'm going to try to avoid Brixx now. I hope others will do the same, but I suspect this will be long-forgotten by the time the restaurant opens.
As for the Rise, I hope they are able to compete with Brixx, but if they didn't anticipate the possibility of another pizza place opening in Barracks Road, that was short-sighted on their part. It's not like pizza is an unusual food.
As too RISE pizza, the fact that Brixx is coming too town was open gossip means that Barracks knew about it even earlier...
http://cvillain.com/?s=brixx+pizza
I've read the strings here and find it amazing how out of touch some of them are with the costs of owning a small business. $100k is a lot of money, so I can see how daunting it is to fight BRIXX legally.
I've known Karen for 15 years- she is a fantastic chef and works harder than anyone else I know. BRIXX will never get my business because of this ridiculous fight.
(Plus I agree it's a kick to Rise Pizzaworks- boo on you, Barracks Rd.)
Another win for corporate America at our expense. They will not get my business.
hmm...i guess we'll see if barging into town and essentially forcing an local business to give up something it worked hard to establish is a good way to say "hi, new neighbors! come spend your money here!"
"Oh, I'm going down to The Terrace Caf© for a bite."
"Where?"
"You know, Brix."
"Oh. Yeah, Brix. Why didn't you just say that the first time?"
if they make it, it will be based on kids coming up from grounds and eating there. i think they probably lost the informed adult consumer base in town.
what the over/under on these guys? 18 months?
Boycott!
So Laetare could have avoided all of this if she had done a quick trademark search when she picked the Brix name.
Lesson learned? You should hire a competent attorney when you open your business.
A cursory Google search reveals that there are various wine bars across the country with some version of the name Brix. Perhaps someone should tell them that expansion of a certain chain would be bad for them.
Brixx handled this like any good business would--they're simply protecting their franchise and brand. If the Cville Brix wanted to keep its name, they should have taken the necessary steps to protect the name...they didn't and now they suffer the consequences. That's why we have laws. That's why the owner of the Cville Brix isn't fighting this case; she consulted an attorney and was told she doesnt have a case.
In a town that has 3 5th streets (none connected to one another),and where Routes 29 and 250 regularly exchange names I think we could have kept the difference between Brix, an upscale locally owned restaurant, and Brixx, a pizza franchise, clear in our minds.
Brix lost its contract with Monticello, and now its name. What's next?
Yepper &K,
I think if you were interested in justice and fair play, you wouldn't be so quick to write it off. This proves we have a legal system but not a justice system.
It will cost the owner no small amount of trouble, and a fair bit of change for changing the name of her establishment. Signs, ads, cards, her logos on her catering vans. These things all cost money, and matter in a time when the economy is struggling and she is a long term local employer. I doubt that the franchise will provide as much as she has.
I get annoyed at the whining of a lot of small business owners, but this is one case where she is absolutely in her rights, and is being bullied out, whatever you might think of her patrons. The least that 'BRIXX' can do is compensate her for her inconvenience, seeing as she was the one to come up with the name first, and has been around longer.
Hungry,
A yes to both. No, I don't go a lot, but her business has mainly been catering, and she has done well by it over the years. just because she is a smaller business doesn't mean that what has happened is right or fair. If it was done to you, you would be squealing to high heaven about your rights.
Capitalism has zero to do with what has happened here. This is not about a business being run out of town because her food was no good, and the franchise is. It has to do with a bigger company that got the name after the fact attacking her to take market share.
Boycotting a place for their poor business behavior is capitalism though. It's called letting your money and feet speak together.
Hold on C'ville. I did not run with my tail between my legs and I am not crying about it. Dropping the the R and I in BRIX is hopefully just a temporary situation. I am BRIX and always will be. As a business owner you have to make a choice...attorneys fees or payroll. Guess what I chose. The government gave me the trademark and I am certainly not giving up. We are a struggly food business and I am in good company. The economy has really hurt alot of us but I am moving forward. I so appreciate everyone support and your kind words and yes sometimes the resturant is empty and on other times you cannot find a seat. It is what it is and if I get some business out of this news flash then great! I would love to cook for you.
some of the anger here is frightening. I do not understand intelectual property, my guess is no one who post here is an intelectual property attorny or has any trademark expertise. Also, I like to think (I could be naieve) that if Karen had a clear case, a court would be simple and fair and rule in her favor, it would not be a battle of wallets.
A little background - I worked for Brixx in Charlotte when I was in high school. The idea that it is some major corporation is would be so funny if it was not stated with such ugly venom. The founders were in the restaurant all of the time and very nice people. I will not name them for fear of their personal safety. I have worked in many restaurants and never have enjoyed my work more than at Brixx. I truly believe that is because of the tone set by the founders. They were never pety about small rules, and once helped me out when I was in the weeds (or overwhelmed for those of you who have never worked). Also, they offered health insurance to all employees, although i was on my parents at the time, it was really important to some of the people I worked with.
Brixx - I am so looking forward to your opening! I have not had the penne pasta in years, and now I can have it with one of the 24 craft beers! I am glad noone who post here will be there, their bitterness might somehow morph to the wines.
Don't like franchise food biz in general and don't like corps. that use eponymous titles (bricks in its various iterations relating to pizza baking is mighty broad).
The location "Brixx" is going into seems like one of those "kiss of death" business venues, so maybe they'll move on down the road in a couple years.
So many business names are found duplicated all over the country. Folks just can't be that original when it comes to picking a quick and easy name for their venture. US "intellectual property rights" law has become an octopus. It's a shame that people like this lady who have used a name so generic as Brix in a local context unmolested for years, as the poster linking to the doctrine of laches pointed out, cannot enjoy precedence locally over a "Johny come lately" chain.
I won't be buying any of their stuff.
In a town that supports local everything so much, this is a bit of a bad first impression for these cats.
Everyone knows the rent in Barracks Rd. is high. But the management company that runs it does their homework on businesses before they offer a lease. So yeah, these out of townies have deep pockets but will they keep a business open that is not making money? Hell no!
Will I ever go there?
F*** no!
Why?
Because of the lack of class.
It's not like we don't already have a plethora of pizza joints LOCALLY owned and already making a profit that make great pizza.
Screw 'em!
These people shouldn't even be in Barracks Road. Total screw on Rise Pizzaworks. And now they're suing a local sandwich shop. F them.
Well, I can now add one more to the list of places I will never spend a cent. Welcome to Charlottesville Brixx, I'll look forward even more to the day we say GOODBYE!
I'm sorry Brix lost her name, but it's funny that some call Brixx a "mega corp" or even a "large corporation" strangling local businesses. In reality Brixx is a very small potato in the retaurant business, with only 13 franchises, not even company stores in their 12 years of existence.
It didn't cost Brixx much, if anything, to fire the initial shot demanding that Brix give up her name. If Karen had had the financial resources to stay with them for the first round, she might have found out that Brixx didn't have the stomach for a long fight either. Their local sucker . . . excuse me, I mean franchisee wouldn't have wanted the bad press dragging on, and probably would have pushed for some settlement.
So, if you don't like what they did, boycott the heck out of them. They don't really have any deep pockets, and if C'ville keeps the customers away for six months they will be gone like last winter's snow.
ââ?¬Å?We hate doing this, but our hands are tied,” claims Barbara Morgan, a partner with Brixx: Wood Fired Pizza, which plans to open its first Virginia store in the old Boston Market space in Barracks Road Shopping Center. ââ?¬Å?We own the name and have a legal obligation. You can’t use a name people own.”
Well apparently she's been doing just that for 11 years, so please, Barbra Morgan, explain to us exactly what "legal obligation" forces you to threaten to sue someone after a decade of injury suffered? If you tell me she's been using your name or a likeness of it for 11 years without your knowledge, I'd have to assume you're perhaps the dimmest restaurant chain management on earth, and if she's been using it with your tacit approval, then I'd wager there's a better than fair chance you'd be found to have slept on your rights.
I am going to boycott Brixx: Wood Fired Pizza
Brixx will do fine here in town. If you look around you see the suburban obesity everywhere, and the "big" crowd loves corporate food. The few of you that don't visit the new Brixx will make no difference at all.
VA is for lovers...of bland corporate food.
Are they open yet? I'm hungry.
The party that really got hurt here was Rise Pizzaworks. Think their landlord told them that another gourmet pizza shop would soon be moving in only 100 yards away?
An experienced restaurant owners (or a competent attorney) would have told Rise to get a suitable noncompete clause in their lease.
Austro -- yay for the status quo! yay for the mega-corporate stranglehold that keeps small businesses from prospering! yay for our entire government and legal system being geared towards helping the big guy, not the little guy! that's what our founding fathers really cared about, after all.
Well there goes my idea for naming my strip club BriXXX. Back to the drawing board
I will NEVER patronize Brixx, Karen catered my wedding and I have supported her ever since.
The company needs to make a claim, of forfiet their rights nationwide. That makes sense.
She should simply rename her company "the pizza place formerly known as brix (before some cheap knock off decided to try and ruin me)"
She should counter with a license for a dollar a year to retain her name and never open a second store. If they refuse to work it out then I would be happy to boycott them on principle.
THe only reason it would cost 100k to defend this is because lawyers are the lowest scum on the planet.
Ever been to Brix on Pantops? Ever seen many people in there? I didn't think so. Run with the goodwill and free press Karen, maybe it's just the kick in the pants the restaurant needs to turn a profit. As for boycotting the new restaurant, some of you self-righteous blowhards are enough to make a person crazy. We live in a capitalist country, get over yourselves and your huge egos.
finally a shot at getting some decent pizza in town. If it means so much to Karen to keep the name fight for it. If you're just gona complain about it then you clearly don't care that much
OldHoo72 hit it on the head. Brixx fired the first shot at Brix and Brix went down without a fight. If you know anything about business, you do what's necessary to protect your brand and that includes eliminate others with your same name.
Karen, owner of Brix, should have sent a letter back saying she wasn't going to change the name and then run to the local papers crying foul. There would have been a small local uproar causing Brixx to back off or pay Karen a small sum to change the name and go away.
You are a Smart Old Timer.
She has had the name here in Cville for years and just to change her signage and printed materials will cost her thousands and thousands of dollars.
But Karen made the choice that to fight the corporation would have cost tens of thousands of dollars. She is a smart business woman but she is still being screwed.
I will join those above and say no to Brixx too.
Holiday inn sued " and Holiday Innin virginia beach in the 60s citing the same deal...
The Original Holiday inn in Va beach brought in reservation cards from before the big holiday inn registered the trademark (proving interstate commerces)and the court ruled in their favor. I could not find a link but the big holiday Inn took it in the butt.
If I were her I would google "brix" and every variation and tell them to shove it. Do you realize how many "sams" pizza, auto repair, diner,plumbing, or whatever there are nationwide? Is their a "sam" out there who has the power to close them?
I would fight on principal.without a lawyer.
Crozetite,
No one wears a suit to a UVA football game ding-dong. A sport coat or a blazer is not a suit.
does Cville really need ANOTHER pizza place?
Molokulya, Sure it does. Just like it needs another coffee shop or another Jeffersonian building or another Volvo or a suit at a football game .Do you get my Drift? Think about the Truman Show or the Stepford Wives and you,ll get it.
With Christian's, who needs Brix? Seriously. End of story.
:D
*Brixx, I meant. As in, invasive non-native species. :D
Why did Karen from Brix's comment show up on the main page under latest comments but not here?
Now that's weird. As soon as I placed my comment, hers was suddenly above mine. Cache issue?