‘Soul food’ not a gold mine for small restaurant
Chicken giant takes eatery to court over slogan
A JOHANNESBURG eatery has fallen foul of the giant Chicken Licken fast-food chain.
Gold Mine Café at the Reef Hotel in Johannesburg was interdicted from using the phrase “soul food”, because the slogan is one of many trademarks to which Chicken Licken founder George Sombonos holds the rights.
Sombonos, managing director of Golden Fried Chicken (owners of Chicken Licken), went to the High Court in Johannesburg after being told the café was infringing on the trademark.
Sombonos, in his affidavit, said the “soul food” theme had been used by his chain, which has more than 200 outlets across South Africa, and it has been a central selling point for the entire Chicken Licken business.
Gold Mine Café, situated in Marshall Street in the Johannesburg CBD, opened last September and advertised food on its menu with the brand “Soul Food”.
Sombonos said that between 2002 and 2009 his company had spent more than R120-million in advertising and building the brand, but now it was in a position where it had to compete with its own investment.
He said this meant that each time he advertised or promoted the Soul Food products, he in-
Its attorney sends out 15 to 20 letters a month to businesses that have violated trademarks
advertently also advertised and promoted Golden Café’s product without getting anything in return.
Reef Hotels resident manager Nooria Wagener said he was not aware that the brand name belonged to Chicken Licken.
“We removed all Soul Food branding in our restaurant a month ago and apologised to Chicken Licken in court this week,” said Wagener.
The court ordered the café to remove all the Soul Food trademarks from all its material in and around its premises.
Sombonos said in an interview this year that business owners had to do research before using a name or catch phrase. Some of the phrases he has protected include “hot wings”, “soul fire”, “S’Good, S’Nice”, “humdinger” — in reference to a food item — and “soul food”.
He said Golden Fried Chicken’s trademark attorney sent an average of 15 to 20 infringement letters a month to businesses it found were violating the trademark names. He has also gone after Moyo restaurant at Johannesburg’s Zoo Lake, which had to change its “lamu hot wings” on the menu because “hot wings” was already protected.
Sombonos said he was not “bullying” competitors, but simply protecting the R1.3-billion empire he built into the largest fried-chicken franchise outside the US.