The makers of New Orleans famous boozy Hand Grenade drink launched a lawsuit over what plaintiffs are calling a copycat drink, according to a report in Wednesday’s Times-Picayune.
It’s a case of “potential mistaken identity” involving Bourbon Street’s “strongest” drink — the Hand Grenade, served at Tropical Isle bar — and Bourbon Street’s “stiffest” drink, served by Willie’s Chicken Shack in a long cylinder cup that lawyers for Tropical Isle say too much resembles their famous, trademarked version, according to the article.
And so Tropical Isle launched a lawsuit in federal court, claiming that “the intent of Willie’s Chicken Shack is unmistakable — to wrongly divert to Willie’s Chicken Shack consumers who desire a Tropical Isle Hand Grenade cocktail in a Tropical Isle souvenir cup.”
Meanwhile, Willie’s shot back. In a written statement to the newspaper, the chicken restaurant’s spokesperson argued that their signature drink “looks nothing like a hand grenade” and that “Tropical Isle does not have a monopoly on large plastic cups in the French Quarter.”
Insurance regulators in Maryland say they are likely not finished investigating the mayor of Baltimore and the insurers that they say bought hundreds of copies of her self-published “Healthy Holly” books, allegedly in exchange for a healthy dose of government contracts and other support.