B-word has place in breakfast, but is it a trademark?

Restaurant sues rival over infringement with name

Owners of a Miami Beach-based eatery called Bacon Bitch are so sure that diners across the country want to be called the b-word by their servers, they’re offering franchise opportunities.

A California-based company apparently agrees. It opened this past weekend as Breakfast Bitch. But it’s not a Bacon Bitch franchisee.

So Bacon Bitch is suing Breakfast Bitch, charging the latter company violated federal laws prohibiting trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Both restaurants specialize in playfully greeting their customers with the b-word, as in, “What’s up, b——?” They say the whole word.

Owners of the Miami Beach-based fast casual breakfast and lunch restaurant, at 860 Collins Ave., are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the San Diego restaurant from use of its trademarks and “distinct characteristics.”

Bacon Bitch’s owners, Queens Hospitality LLC, says Breakfast Bitch’s owners stole its business plan, including using “almost exact recipes,” and grouping its menu items under similar names.

Both restaurants separate their menu sections with the headers “Main Bitch,” “Side Bitch,” and “Extra Bitch.”

Bacon Bitch calls its cocktail section “Drunk Bitch,” while Breakfast Bitch calls its drink section “Thirsty Bitch.”

Breakfasts Bitch’s owners never approached Bacon Bitch about a franchise

agreement but likely visited the Miami Beach restaurant to collect ideas, said Bacon Bitch’s attorney, Brenda J. Schamy of Dishchino & Schamy, Miami, in an email.

Bacon Bitch’s lawsuit, filed July 12 in U.S. District Court in Miami, says an early version of Breakfast Bitch’s website included a post admitting it was “inspired by one of the hippest spots in Miami.”

Consumers and industry experts have already questioned whether the two businesses are affiliated, the suit states. If Breakfast Bitch is allowed to operate, “there is no way to quantify the irreparable damage and harm that Queens will experience,” the suit states.

Breakfast Bitch’s owners did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.

A story on the San Diego version of the restaurant focused site Eater.com described the breakfast concept as “brunch with attitude.” “Be forewarned,” the story said. “Diners will be greeted with the phrase ‘Hi, bitch,’ though owner Tracil Hutsona insists that the intent will be playful and positive.”

In a video introducing Bacon Bitch franchise opportunities, founder and CEO Chris Viso said, “We do things a little different here because we really develop an experience when people walk through the door.”

“And of course we have to train you on the bitch culture. The bitch word gets thrown around a lot here. People love it. And they kind of come to expect it.” Viso promised that franchisees would receive “step by step training from me and my staff.”

Prospective franchisees should expect to invest between $267,000 and $384,000, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee, then pay ongoing royalties of 6 percent of gross sales, the restaurant’s website states. An online search turned up no indication yet of a second Bacon Bitch restaurant open or in the works.

A listing on the Florida Division of Corporations’ website sunbiz.org shows that Queens Hospitality Corp. was formed in September 2016, and Bacon Bitch LLC was created in August 2018. The trademark Bacon Bitch was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in January, according to the office’s website.

But both restaurants were apparently preceded by the Seattle-based Biscuit Bitch, which according to Washington’s corporate registration website was formed in 2014. That restaurant promises Southern-inspired “trailer park-to-table offerings” with such names as “Bitchwich,” “Hot Mess Bitch,” “Buttered Up Bitch” and “Cheesy Pork N’ Bitch.”

In a 2009 post, the website urbandictionary.com defined “breakfast bitch” as someone who makes breakfast “for you all the time,” as well as someone “that bitches around the breakfast time of 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.”