Star Tribune
Fast food name feud laid to rest after Taco Chon’s in Burnsville and St. Cloud changes restaurant name
A Minnesota restaurant owner has agreed to change the name of his restaurants after a lawsuit filed by Taco John’s International alleged that the too-similar name infringed on their trademarked name, causing confusion among customers.
On Facebook last week, Juan Ramos shared the updated name of his business: Don Chon Mexican Grill, adding that the restaurant is “changing to be better in every way.”
Lee Hutton, who served as Ramos’ attorney, confirmed that the parties had reached a settlement.
“We’re happy that this is over,” Hutton said. “My client will move on and we hope that many people in Minnesota will come and visit him and celebrate his new beginnings.”
The trouble started nearly two years ago when Taco John’s International, which is based in Wyoming and has 370 locations in 23 states, sent a “cease and desist” letter to Ramos. A lawsuit was filed in federal court in April 2022.
Ramos owns two restaurants formerly called “Taco Chon Mexican Grill” in Burnsville and St. Cloud. He opened the initial Burnsville restaurant in 2019 to honor his father, who was the chef at the family’s street taco business in Mexico, and later added the central Minnesota location. His father’s nickname was “Chon,” court documents said.
In court documents, Taco John’s International said that their trademark was “famous and distinctive,” had been in use for more than 50 years and was protected by federal law. Taco John’s and Taco Chon sell similar menu items and both Taco Chon locations are less than five miles away from a Taco John’s, lawyers argued.
In the complaint, Taco John’s said that Ramos was “willfully and deliberately” infringing on Taco John’s rights. The company wanted an injunction so Ramos would have to stop using the “Taco Chon” name, which it said had caused Taco John’s “immediate and irreparable damage.”
Ramos’ attorney, Lee Hutton, argued that the words “Mexican Grill” differentiated the two establishments, signifying that Taco Chon was a restaurant-bar offering formal dining and alcoholic beverages, unlike Taco John’s.
Hutton also said that the two restaurant names don’t sound similar if “Chon” is pronounced correctly — that is, in Spanish, the two names don’t rhyme.
“If you correctly pronounce the name, like an intellectual person would using their capability of speaking multiple languages, we wouldn’t even be here in the first place,” Hutton said in an interview Thursday.
Hutton noted that there’s a Burger Hut and a Burger King and asked whether legal action had been taken in that instance.
Taco John’s International, which is owned by Spicy Seasonings, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ramos wrote on Don Chon Mexican Grill’s Facebook page that he would be offering several new menu items in the coming weeks and thanked the community for its ongoing support.
“Even though there’s a lot of energy, creativity and hard work going on around downtown, never have we been more aligned in the direction we’re heading,” Duininck said.
To execute its plan, the city is convening a Downtown Action Council, a group that consists of representatives from the business, nonprofit and government sectors, including the Minnesota Vikings, Target and the Guthrie Theater.
A top priority for the group, from July 2024 to 2026, will be helping figure out the long-awaited transformation of Nicollet Mall into a pedestrian-only corridor. A task force Frey convened called the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup made that suggestion and others for the thoroughfare back in June 2023. The city and its partners will have to determine where to move bus traffic and stops, but Frey said Marquette and Second avenues are ripe for that transition.
The plan would also focus time and resources on downtown’s Warehouse District, which Frey said “has the potential to be an entertainment Mecca.” The blocks between the North Loop and the central business district could have a social district that allows open containers, billboards and lights that help attract visitors from around the state.
“I’m not arguing that the Warehouse District is going to be like Times Square,” Frey said. “But I am arguing that we can create our own version of it right here in Minneapolis.”
Officials also emphasized efforts to make it easier for developers to convert downtown office buildings to housing and other uses. Frey touted the city’s Vibrant Storefronts initiative, which has been connecting property owners with vacant storefronts to local artists.
Star Tribune
Two more victims from encampment shootings identified as Mayor Frey says, ‘This is about fentanyl.’
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has identified three murder victims from two separate shootings at homeless encampments this weekend in Minneapolis as three others were left with life-threatening injuries.
Christopher Martell Washington, 38, of Fridley, and Louis Mitchell Lemons, Jr., 32, of Brooklyn Center, were identified Monday afternoon as the two men who died from multiple gunshot wounds on Sunday afternoon in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue. Deven Leonard Caston, 31, was identified as the victim at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. that happened Saturday.
Minneapolis Police Spokesman Sgt. Garrett Parten, said it was unclear if there was a connection between the shootings but “we can’t rule it out.”
The city has dealt with several shootings in and around homeless encampments this year. Mayor Jacob Frey attended a news conference Sunday after the shooting on Snelling Avenue and said the city needs to continue to provide options for people seeking shelter. But, he said, encampments are not an alternative answer.
“Yet again we have more people that are dead,” he said. “We need to be honest and realistic about what is happening right now. We need to call a spade a spade. This is not about a lack of shelter. This is about fentanyl.”
Officers initially detained three people in the shooting of Washington and Lemons Jr., but were released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No charges had been filed in either shooting as of Monday.
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of Sunday’s shooting. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.”
Inside Paper Source, which has been in the mall since 2016, senior sales lead Carrie Helman-Menard said foot traffic has changed at the mall.
“It is quiet,” she said. “This street was a lot different even, you know, six years ago. The hobby stores down that way closed. Salut, closed. Anthropolgie, closed. J Crew, etc. There were a lot more people bustling, shopping.”
Grand, she said, can be that way again, but it “needs businesses. Needs people.”
A new development at Grand and Victoria could be just what’s needed, she said.
“People will come,” she said, pointing to her store’s customers continuing to walk through Paper Source’s door. “They get excited that something’s here. People are grateful. They’ll come in here and say, ‘Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re here.’ So that feels good. A lot of people want that hustle and bustle back.”
Simon Taghioff, president of the Summit Hill Association board, said Parritz made “an information only” presentation to the board earlier this month. Parritz, he said, shared “a lot of optimism in how it could transform that corner in a positive way.”
