Two Pesos
Restaurant information
Established1982
Closed1993
CityHouston
StateTexas
CountryU.S.

Two Pesos was a Tex-Mex restaurant chain in the U.S. state of Texas that opened in 1982 in Houston. It was similar to Taco Cabana but Two Pesos never opened in Taco Cabana's home market of San Antonio. The Two Pesos chain was sold to Taco Cabana in 1993 after losing a drawn-out trade dress suit that appeared before the United States Supreme Court.

History

Two Pesos was started in 1985 by Houston restaurateur Marno McDermot, who had been in negotiations with Taco Cabana's management to take the patio-restaurant chain nationwide. When Taco Cabana's founding Stehling brothers rejected his advances, McDermot decided to open up his own chain of similarly themed patio-dining Tex-Mex restaurants under the Two Pesos name. When Taco Cabana entered the Houston market, they sued Two Pesos for stealing their business concepts and "trade dress." After many appeals, the case went to the Supreme Court, which in 1992 ruled in Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc. in favor of Taco Cabana.[1] The Two Pesos owners sold to Taco Cabana the following year rather than making the changes required by the judgment.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763 (1992)
  2. ^ Woodard, Tracey Taylor (1989-01-23). "Judge details changes in Two Pesos concept". Nation's Restaurant News. 23 (4). ISSN 0028-0518. Gale Document Number A6996322. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  3. ^ Ruggless, Ron (1993-01-25). "Taco Cabana buys rival Two Pesos". Nation's Restaurant News. 27 (4). ISSN 0028-0518. Gale Document Number A13396297. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-07.


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