There’s a battle over barbecue brewing in North Texas as members of the Hutchins family prepare to go to court over a trademark violation involving the family name. NBC 5’s Allie Spillyards reports.
There's a barbecue war brewing in North Texas as members of the Hutchins family prepare to go to court over a trademark violation involving the family name.
For decades, Hutchins Barbeque has been serving up some of Texas's favorite barbecue.
In the early 2000s, Tim, the youngest of three sons, took over the business started by his father, Toy, and brothers, Trey and Wesley.
Now, Wesley Hutchins is jumping back in, alongside his father and son, to open his own barbecue joint in Trophy Club.
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Though the new restaurant will share a similar name, Wesley said it will be a separate business from Hutchins locations run by his brothers Tim and Trey in McKinney and Frisco.
“That's why it's called the Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque, to basically keep those two stores the family stores and let them continue to grow and just kind of separate here and more for the future,” he said.
Last month, Tim and Trey filed a lawsuit against Wesley and Roy, claiming The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque could cause confusion for those looking for Hutchins Barbeque and already has, citing articles incorrectly reporting the Trophy Club location as an extension of the existing brand.
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Friday, Tim Hutchins released a statement:
“Even if you don’t love the actions, you can still love the person. I love my dad and brother but I don’t love the fact that they are infringing on our trademarks. It’s that simple. At the end of the day, my brother Trey and I are solely focused on protecting our brand and employees, and continuing to deliver the same high-quality barbecue experience that we are known for at Hutchins BBQ. We’re really just two people who share the same passion for giving people some delicious Texas barbecue.”
It was a similar argument made back in 2019 by the Fletcher family, and more recently, from Highland Park Italian restaurant Carbone’s.
“I spent much of last year talking about Carbone and Carbone’s, who engaged in a lawsuit over trademark issues. Similarly, it was about the name,” said Sarah Blaskovich, food reporter for The Dallas Morning News.
Blaskovich said disputes like those could become even more common in this online age.
“If somebody puts the restaurant name in Google, if they go to Yelp to make a review, will they land in the right place? And will they give the right restaurant the feedback that they mean to? This is one of the things Hutchins wants to prove in its lawsuit,” she said.
In both of those cases, settlements were reached and one business agreed to change its name.
Still, Roy Hutchins, the patriarch of both the family and the restaurant, argues he and Wesley have just as much right to the family name as his other two sons.
"I am Roy Hutchins, the man that started the restaurant, birthed those kids and put them in the business,” he said.
Now, that’s for a judge to decide.
