11 Comment

• Houstonian January 22, 2015 at 9:43 am

  Re the dueling Hugos: I hate it when a new business can’t even do a google search to determine if their name will be too similar to an existing restaurant. Here, it clearly seems like Hugo Caliente could be confused as a fast food version of Hugo’s. It seems like an obvious example of trademark infringement.
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  If your last name is McDonald and you want to open a hamburger joint, guess what you can’t name it?
• Dana-X January 22, 2015 at 10:57 am

  No doubt the Caroline St. redo will be gorgeous and well-used but City spenders need to set an example of fiscal responsibility but no going shopping for jewels when the house has a leaky roof. Get all of the streets up to standards and keep them that way then take a stroll down the Rodeo Dr. of roadways, if there’s $ available to do so. Or, just redo these specified streets into Complete Streets when it comes time for new blacktop and water/sewer/gasline upgrades.
• JB3 January 22, 2015 at 11:28 am

  No headlines for the two fatal shootings and one dead body found in the Cottage Grove area in the last two weeks?
• joel January 22, 2015 at 12:04 pm

  JB3, seriously, nobody cares. Come back to us when you know about some trees being trimmed or cut down though.
  ***
  Houstonian, I hate it that somebody names a restaurant after a common first name and then suddenly has trademark protection on any restaurant from using the same common first name anywhere in it’s title. yes, we need protections for good reason and Caliente was probably a bit too egregrious on titling dinner plates and all (i’m sure Hugo has the law well on his side here), but that doesn’t mean that both parties aren’t equally petty and foolish here. there’s a presumption here that the populace and average customer is a complete idiot to think that caliente would in any way be associated with Hugo’s that doesn’t pass the smell test.
• matx January 22, 2015 at 12:37 pm

  JB3 –
  here you go:
  http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Robbery-turns-deadly-in-Heights-area-6029922.php

  No mention of the body found near TC Jester & Ella (?). Not exactly news for a real estate blog unless it causes home prices begin to plummet (which is more likely to happen due to O&G industry cooling off).
• marmer January 22, 2015 at 12:47 pm

  I seem to remember an independent burger place called “MacDonalds” somewhere around the Greater Houston area a few years ago. I was always astounded that they could get away with that. And of course there’s Waterburger in Webster near Clear Lake.
• Old School January 22, 2015 at 12:51 pm

  I always thought that trade name/trademark fights were just corporate bullying, like Starbucks going after a guy in Galveston who had a beer called “Star Bock”. But I really did assume that Hugo’s Caliente was part of Hugo Ortega’s restaurant group. I guess there is something to his claim.
• joel January 22, 2015 at 1:55 pm

  hugo’s caliente would be a very different situation, but the name is just hugo caliente. i guess Hugo’s being well out of my price range I’m probably not the best to compare them, but I really don’t see much to link the two due to the drastic differences in location, ambience, service and dining options. i really wonder if a Hugo’s regular could ever assume a link between the two.
  ***
  perhaps I should clarify that in respects to trademark of naming rights, i feel that you should have to clear a much higher bar than simply calling something hugo’s in order to control your brand. my natural inclination is to always side with the little guy anyways. lawyers are a quick path to doom for small start-ups.
• Houstonian January 22, 2015 at 4:04 pm

  A simple solution would be for Hugo Caliente to re-name to To Go, Caliente since the article says that’s where the name came from (You go Caliente). That would minimize costs to Hugo Caliente and let them keep their identity.
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  Hugo’s said actual customers were asking if Huge Caliente was theirs. That’s a big deal. It’s true that its common enough of a name that Hugo’s can’t prevent the name from being used in other cities but It’d be like if I opened a Greek restaurant in Houston called Niko’s Gyros. Niko Nikos might have a problem.
• KB January 23, 2015 at 9:27 pm

  I am a reasonably informed Houstonian about restaurant openings/trends — and I thought Hugo Caliente was related to Hugo’s. I was shocked to find out it isn’t. I’m for the little guys, too, but I can’t believe they didn’t know that Hugo’s existed. They were glomming onto the Hugo’s name.
• Gisgo January 26, 2015 at 2:24 pm

  This might be prodromal Alzheimer’s speaking, but I’m still confused between 5 Guys Burgers and the Burger Guys. All I can remember is that one is crap and the other isn’t.