Denver pizzeria owner Tony Pasquini, who is involved with multiple lawsuits with his sister over the name and trademarks of their family business, is in the process of changing the name of his restaurants from Pasquini’s to Tony P’s,
the
Denver Business Journal
r
eported.
Pasquini expects the rebranding to cost nearly $50,000 per store and that he will lose about 10% of his monthly business at each location because of the name change, the article said.
Pasquini and his sister, Melinda Pasquini, have been fighting their legal battle for more than 15 months, the article said. Melinda Pasquini operates the original Pasquini’s location.
Tony Pasquini and his mother opened the original restaurant in 1986. He sold his stake in the business to his sister in 2004; three years later, he returned to sell franchises for other Pasquini locations.
In 2011, Tony Pasquini announced that he was opening a Pasquini’s location in an area that his sister claimed was in the exclusive territory of the original store. She sued, claiming that she owned the right to the business name. A U.S. District Court judge enjoined Tony Pasquini from using the family name at that location, and he changed the name of the restaurant to Tony P’s, the journal article said.
Melinda Pasquini filed a motion for another injunction in August 2012, when her brother announced he was opening a restaurant in a new location. A U.S. magistrate judge recommended to the court that the second motion be granted, the article said.
Tony Pasquini is keeping the Pasquini’s name on one location because he says the store is the least profitable and can’t afford a rebranding, though he hopes eventually to change that name as well, according to the report.
Melinda Pasquini has also filed suit to compel her brother to drop the Pasquini’s logo, which he continues to use with Tony P’s. Tony Pasquini has sued Melinda and her law firm, “alleging professional negligence and malpractice for their roles in advising him on franchising and trademark protection before she sued him for trademark infringement,” the journal article said. (Source:
Denver Business Journal,
Feb. 6, 2013.)
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