⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Ruth's Chris Sends Cease and Desist to Parody Indian Steakhouse Pop-Up Ruth Krishna's Tandoori Steakhouse has been renamed Randy Krishna's for David Chang's satiric one-night pop-up restaurant event.

By Kate Taylor

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

randykrishnas.com

Ruth's Chris has a bone to pick with a parody Indian pop-up steakhouse run by celebrity chef David Chang.

The steakhouse chain sent a cease-and-desist notice to the creators of Ruth Krishna's Tandoori Steakhouse, a steak-centric Indian restaurant created as a one-night-only promotional stunt for the "Fantasy" issue of food magazine Lucky Peach. So, the faux restaurant concept run by Lucky Peach editor and celebrity chef David Chang and chef Akhtar Tawab, is rebranding to "Randy Krishna's."

While Chang, Tawab and Lucky Peach could have fought the case in court, using similar justification to last year's "Dumb Starbucks," the team decided to avoid a lawsuit, telling Eater, it's "better to spend money on lunch and comic books and paying bills than it is on lawyers when you don't need to." According to the publication, Lucky Peach chose to rebrand Ruth Krishna's as Randy Krishna's after contemplating a number of names including Steak 'n' Saag, Goa-head Make My Steak, Priya Luger and Corporate Buzzkill Tandoori Steaks.

Related: The Story of How McDonald's All-Day Breakfast Came to Be

Randy Krishna's will still serve up dishes like tandoori ribeye, creamed saag paneer and biryani onion rings for customers who have already purchased tickets for the sold-out event on Sept. 17 in a made-over Italian restaurant in Manhattan.

Dumb Starbucks, a non-Starbucks affiliated coffee shop featured on comedy-reality show Nathan for You in which every item adopted the "dumb" precursor, may be the case most similar to Ruth Krishna's in relation to parody law. However, the pair are far from alone when it comes to supposed imitators getting in trouble with the law – though in most cases, the copycats are actual restaurants, not just satiric pop ups.

In 2005, Starbucks forced Sam Bucks, a coffee shop run by Sam Buck Lundberg in Astoria, Ore. to change its name to Downtown Coffee. In-n-Out has successfully filed lawsuits against burger joints with similar menus and signage. However, one "imitator" remains standing: Ronald McDonald, the proud owner of McDonald's Family Restaurant, which opened just one year after the first McDonald's.

Related: Will 'Dumb Starbucks' Be Smart Enough to Get Away With Selling Parody Coffee?

Kate Taylor

Reporter

Kate Taylor is a reporter at Business Insider. She was previously a reporter at Entrepreneur. Get in touch with tips and feedback on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Franchise

The Top Franchise Brands Growing Globally

While our main Fastest-Growing Franchises list focuses on North American growth, more and more brands are looking to grow worldwide. These are the 25 that had the greatest franchise growth outside the U.S. and Canada from July 2022 to July 2023.