Texas Pizza Shop Forced to Change Name, Offers Year of Free Pizza for New One
Restaurant owners were told to change the name, so they're seeking a new one.
— -- A pizza chain in Texas is turning lemons into lemonade after it was forced to change its name.
Black Jack Pizza in South Dallas and Pleasant Grove has been serving pies and burgers for more than 30 years. But the family that owns the small business said they received a cease-and-desist letter from an unrelated chain in Colorado that trademarked the name. That larger business demanded that the Texas restaurant change its name and logo.
“They say we cannot have anything saying 'Black Jack Pizza,'” the Texas business owner Terry Jones told ABC's Dallas affiliate WFAA.
Jones told WFAA that he has known about the other business’ name for years. “It just came to a head," he said.
Though Jones said he might lose a few customers over the name change, they don't plan to fight the issue in court. Instead, they are sponsoring a contest that invites customers to submit suggestions for a new name. The winner will receive a free large pizza and a sweet tea every month for a year, from this coming August to July of next year. The contest ends May 23.
"It's a bump in the road,” Jones told WFAA. “You've got to go over the road. You've got to go over that bump and keep on rolling."
Contest forms are at Black Jack locations around the Dallas area.
Blackjack Pizza in Colorado did not respond to a request for comment.
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