The Post facing Lexington trademark abuse

[Robin Garr]

I don't blame the good folks at The Post in Louisville for being irritated. I hope they can clear this up.

Since 2013 Laura and I have worked tirelessly to create the business and brand you know as The Post. We've pushed through renovations, debt, internet drama, growing pains, late nights and early mornings and have emerged after 5 years of business as more confident restaurant owner-operators. We love The Post and the community that has grown around it. We are proud of how our brand has grown and the recognition our team has received locally, regionally and nationally for our product.

It was recently brought to our attention that a restaurant in Lexington, formerly The Village Idiot, is in the process of rebranding and will open soon as The Post. Operated by Brian Behr, this version of The Post in Lexington will dilute the strength of our brand, confuse our current and potential customers, and prevent us from replicating The Post in the Lexington market. Even if we never pursue expansion to Lexington, the potential for confusion and brand erosion is apparent due to the significant ties between the Lexington and Louisville communities. I have known both Brian and his father Tom for a long time and there is no doubt they were aware of The Post and our success over the last 5 years when they made the decision to move forward with naming their restaurant the same thing as ours.

In an effort to solve this problem amicably and avoid a costly legal battle, we contacted Brian Behr and Tom Behr and respectfully asked them to not move forward with the rebrand of The Village Idiot as The Post. Tom responded with a firm refusal to change the name of their restaurant to anything other than The Post. We are putting this message out to our community in an effort to get ahead of any confusion this situation will undoubtedly cause. We are putting this message out to the Behrs as a public plea to please move forward with the rebrand of your restaurant as anything other than The Post. To our friends, family, staff and customers, we appreciate your continued support both at The Post and through likes and shares of this message.

Nash Neely

On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/louisvillepost ... 1197421753. Also on The Post's Instagram page.

Well that certainly seems crappy. I guess this public shaming is the last step before a lawsuit maybe?

[Robin Garr]

I would guess that they're hoping for a retreat short of the need for a costly lawsuit, Iggy, but they seem angry enough that I'm sure you're right!

I can't believe anybody would name their restaurant "The Village Idiot" in the 1st place but I can definitely see why they want to change it. Of course based on their attitude the present name seems very fitting.

While we haven't heard the Behr side of the story, from this side this sounds like a very busch move. You've got a million options for a restaurant name, why you gotta copy someone who is already enjoying success is beyond me.

See also my next project: Jack Fry's (opening in nearby E-town...)

I definitely understand the frustration. And the personal relationship between the owners no doubt agitates things, but I'm not sure how strong the case is.

According to the Business First article on the subject (https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/03/11/louisville-restaurant-calls-out-lexington.html), the Lexington business is in a former post office. So there's a similar inspiration but would definitely incur a different branding approach. And looking at their menus (http://www.lexingtonvillageidiot.com/entrees/), there wouldn't be much room for mixing up the two businesses.

I agree that it's a frustrating thing to see happen, especially when you know the folks, but unless The Post (Louisville) comes up with paperwork showing an imminent expansion to Lexington was planned (lease negotiations/ABC apps/real estate broker hired), I don't see where a lawsuit could be successful.

BUT! We'll find out.

It's even more of a dickhead move given the two parties have a relationship. Why even go there? Like someone said above, there are millions of names to choose from. It's just going to ad confusion to the Lex location as well. They're creating drama for absolutely no reason. Also, what kind of owner is changing the name of their establishment this far along? Village Idiot was a ridiculous idea.

https://www.facebook.com/lexingtonvillageidiot/

The Village Idiot/The Post Bar and Kitchen has posted its side of the story on its Facebook page.

"Shortly after the Instagram name update, I received a text message from the owner of “The Post” in Louisville, a pizza place, threatening to take legal action against me."

"Before receiving this message from the owner of The Post in Louisville, I was unaware the place even existed, definitely had never been there, and in no way gathered any ideas or concepts from them while working on my own restaurant. To say or imply otherwise is patently false."

"Shortly after the Instagram name update, I received a text message from the owner of “The Post” in Louisville, a pizza place, threatening to take legal action against me."

"Before receiving this message from the owner of The Post in Louisville, I was unaware the place even existed, definitely had never been there, and in no way gathered any ideas or concepts from them while working on my own restaurant. To say or imply otherwise is patently false.

If the employer-imposed quarantines continue, I'm going to expect a post on here titled "Post Up OR How the Louisville-Lexington Rivalry Deepened Thanks to Thin Crust Pizza".

Much in the way the directional universities steer clear of the rivalry, I'll expect Goodfellas to sit quietly off to the side.

www.thepostlexington.com
https://www.instagram.com/postbarandkitchen/

www.thepostlouisville.com

If they’re now really modifying it to “The Old Post,” then that seems like a perfectly fine conclusion to this story.

http://www.thepostlexington.com
https://www.instagram.com/postbarandkitchen/

Interesting that neither 1 of those websites are active anymore.

"Before receiving this message from the owner of The Post in Louisville, I was unaware the place even existed, definitely had never been there, and in no way gathered any ideas or concepts from them while working on my own restaurant. To say or imply otherwise is patently false."

I don't believe a word of that quote. The Louisville Beer Store posted a story about this gentleman coming in and pretending he was someone else and was there with his daughter who turned out to be an employee of his pizza place then proceeding to copy many LBS ideas.