Everybody, meet SanJalisco, formerly known as Los Jarritos. MM reader Mark P. stopped by this weekend and noticed something was amiss:
Just stopped by Los Jarritos at 20th and South Van Ness, a great family restaurant that’s been at that corner at least 20 years. Sign on the door says they’re changing their name. I asked why. They said they’d been sued by the Jarritos soft drink company.
Indeed, despite the fact that owner Dolores Reyes opened the place back in 1988, around the same time that multi-national Novamex started importing their drinks to the US, and that jarritos themselves are actually small earthen clay pots popular in Reyes’ home state Jalisco; the beverage maker nonetheless remained undeterred to ensure sole possession of the name even after losing an earlier court decision in 2007.
Reyes, lacking the considerable legal budget enjoyed by Novamex, couldn’t afford to keep up the battle in court, much less the $50,000 that the corporation wanted in order for the small restaurant to keep its moniker, and eventually decided to relent and change the name. In all, it appears that almost 30 similar restaurants around the country with some version of Jarritos in their name were targeted.
You’d be doing yourself a favor by going to stop by and show your support thanks to the delicious menu featuring breakfast chilaquiles and other fabulous platano creations. Pair that with their refreshing michelada for a fantastic hungover Sunday brunch that gives Boogaloos a run for its money. Just don’t expect them to be selling Jarritos sodas anymore, though.
Great article on this over at the SFBG
[Outdoor Photo by Michael N via Yelp]
[Food Photo by vegansaurus!]
