Judges orders changes to restaurant in Cracker Barrel suit
The exterior of a new restaurant in Dewey Beach must be changed to no longer resemble the national restaurant chain Cracker Barrel, according to an order from a federal judge.
U.S. District Chief Judge Leonard P. Stark issued a preliminary injunction Thursday in the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Cracker Barrel against Highway I Limited Partnership and its business partners who are building a new Jimmy's Grille on Coastal Highway.
Cracker Barrel's attorneys alleged in a 19-page lawsuit that the exterior design of the restaurant and gift shop copied the old-fashioned general store design of Cracker Barrel.
The suit claimed the new Jimmy's Grille has the same brown paint color, use of wood siding, slanted roof over the porch, square windows and parapet above the roof.
Thursday's injunction, agreed to by both parties and signed by the judge, prohibits further construction that may confuse or deceive the public into thinking the restaurant is a Cracker Barrel.
He noted that the size of nine windows must be modified within five days, the wood siding must be removed or covered in 15 days, and the wood siding on the parapet must be removed or covered within 15 days. The exterior must also be repainted a color that is not brown.
Chad Stover, an attorney representing Cracker Barrel, would not comment on the preliminary injunction, citing Cracker Barrel's corporate policy to not comment on ongoing litigation.
The suit claimed that the similarities between the restaurants caused some guests at the Cracker Barrel two blocks away to ask employees if a new location was opening, the suit said.
The suit also said that local entrepreneur and head of Highway I Limited Partnership, Alex Pires,was quoted in a newspaper article saying "the location will also feature a retail shop similar to Cracker Barrel in nature, but with local products" and noted that the new location would be "kind of like Cracker Barrel, but with alcohol."
There are two other Jimmy's Grille locations in Bridgeville and Dewey Beach. Neither location looks like the newly constructed building and all three are vastly different in appearance.
Pires did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at (302) 324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.