If you celebrate Taco Tuesday, beware of Taco John’s

It’s Tuesday.

My favorite day of the week.

Because tacos.

The rumors are true - I love tacos.

Crispy tacos. Soft tacos. Beef tacos. Chicken tacos. Even shrimp tacos. They’re all my favorites.

But what does Tuesday have to do with tacos?

At some point in our US culinary culture, someone put the word “taco” in front of “Tuesday” and created a benchmark dietary staple on a memorable day with a nice alliteration for the title - Taco Tuesday!

But, don’t plan on using that for a theme for your new taco business, lest you have a strong legal team.

While most people know about Taco Tuesday, they’re considerably less aware of who actually OWNS the ‘Taco Tuesday’ copyright.

And that distinction belongs to Wyoming-based restaurant Taco John's.

(app users can see tweet here)

Two shells are better than one. #TacoBravoThursday

Posted by Taco John's on Thursday, March 16, 2017

(app users can see Facebook post here)

We’ve even found what we’re told is the very first ‘Taco Tuesday’ radio commercial from Taco John’s.

Behold:

(app users can hear the commercial here)

Priceonomics has an entire report on the history of 'Taco Tuesday,' that starts with this piece of startling information for a restaurant owner who dared use "taco Tuesday" as a promotion:

When the owners of the Old Fashioned Tavern and Restaurant received a cease and desist letter demanding they stop holding Taco Tuesdays, they thought it was a joke.

For almost a decade, the restaurant had sold $2 tacos on Tuesday night. Other restaurants and bars in the area had similar promotions, and in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Taco Tuesday specials are as plentiful as yoga classes.

But the author of the letter claimed that "Taco Tuesday" was a federally registered trademark that belonged to Taco John's, a chain of around 400 Mexican-style fast food restaurants. And as Old Fashioned manager Jennifer DeBolt told the local Cap Times, they quickly realized that "the law firm is completely legit."

So, like hundreds of restaurant owners and managers who have received letters from Taco John's lawyers in the last two decades, they stopped using the term Taco Tuesday.

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