Middle Child v. Middle Child, Philly v. Vegas: Restaurants are embroiled in a trademark fight

Matthew Cahn, the middle child who owns Philadelphia’s popular Middle Child restaurants, has gone to federal court to ask a judge to block a forthcoming restaurant in Las Vegas from using the name he’s advertised for 6½ years.

Cahn wants to expand the Middle Child brand to a third location at Philadelphia International Airport and to outposts in Austin and Los Angeles, says the suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, which alleges trademark infringement.

But, as Cahn told Eater on Tuesday, “consumer confusion” over the names could slow his growth. He told The Inquirer Wednesday that he was unavailable to comment, and his attorneys declined to comment beyond the suit. A representative of the Las Vegas group told Eater: “The truth will prevail, and we are confident that it will be evident to all.”

The outcome would appear to hinge on interpretation of trademark law, balancing the date of filing against its first use in commerce.

Cahn opened his 16-seat luncheonette at 248 S. 11th St. in Center City in October 2017 and expanded in October 2021 to 1232 N. Front St. in Fishtown with a larger bar-restaurant, Middle Child Clubhouse. Middle Child was a hit from the start, thanks to Cahn’s brash marketing and acclaimed sandwiches. Its pastrami, egg, and cheese on rye won Good Morning America’s “United States of Breakfast” contest last year.

The Las Vegas group filed a trademark application in September 2022. After Cahn filed his own Middle Child application in January 2023, emails between lawyers followed.

In April 2023, according to the suit, the Las Vegas group offered to allow Cahn to use the name in the “Philadelphia metropolitan area” while allowing the Vegas group to use it elsewhere. Cahn filed to oppose Las Vegas’ application in September 2023.

» READ MORE: How these Philadelphia restaurants got their names

The conflict flared publicly last week after Cahn saw that one of the Vegas owners, bartender Nectaly Mendoza, announced the “midday eatery’s” opening. (Mendoza has since made his Instagram private.)

Last Friday, Cahn posted his January 2023 cease-and-desist letter to the Vegas group on his Instagram. In typical Cahn fashion, he asked his nearly 48,000 followers to email the Vegas group to complain.

Tiffs over restaurant names are not uncommon. Bad blood flowed for decades between the two Bookbinder’s seafood restaurants, each claiming authenticity. The Tacconelli’s pizzerias battled over branding, as well. When the Tony Luke’s sandwich empire was split up, one son kept the name while the patriarch and another son renamed their remaining location Tony & Nick’s.

» READ MORE: Why do so many Philadelphia restaurants have the same names?

Just before the 2016 Olympics, the U.S. Olympic Committee sent a cease-and-desist letter to Olympic Gyro at Reading Terminal Market. Rather than spend money on lawyers, owner Athens Voulgaridis changed the name to Olympia Gyro.

In one long-running case settled last fall, giant Taco Bell outspent Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point, N.J., in a trademark fight over the term “Taco Tuesday.” Even more recently, the nonprofit group hoping to rebuild historic Tun Tavern is using “the Tun” as it negotiates with the Tun Tavern trademark holder in Atlantic City.