In-N-Out Threatens an Idaho Burger Stand With Lawsuit

Boise, Idaho‘s Burger Express restaurant has been open for about a month and is already making national news — it’s being threatened by In-N-Out Burger lawyers. Owner Larry Squillace has put together a restaurant that follows a similar red, white and yellow color-scheme, similar block lettering in the logo, and a menu highlighting the same simplicity that In-N-Out Burger is famous for.

Local publication IdahoStatesman reports that people in the area have already made the comparisons, which have now only been further cemented by In-N-Out’s legal team.

In fact, the letter to Squillace went a little something like this:

There can be no debate that your restaurant is modeled after In-N-Out’s restaurants. Our information suggests that you have even copied In-N-Out’s food presentation — the burger partially wrapped with the side visible — to the customer.

The Burger Express owner has until August 5th to make the changes, before further action is taken. Squillace mentioned that it would take at least $37,000 to make the necessary changes the lawyers are asking of him.

While the look and branding share similarities with the already well-established In-N-Out, Burger Express’s menu also consists of three burger options, three fries, and cola — a model that Squillace attributes to the youth he spent working in his father’s restaurant.

Should Burger Express have to change its logo and succumb to In-N-Out’s demands? Or is In-N-Out claiming too much ownership over block lettering and overall brand dressing?