All is not well in Margaritaville. Brian Hutmacher, owner of Peso's, a popular tequila-and-nachos hangout in lower Queen Anne, accuses former bartender and frenemy Nate Opper of stealing Peso's concept when Opper opened Matador in Ballard in 2004. Hutmacher claims Opper not only stole their Mexican-inspired decor, but menu items as well. '"Eight of those 11 items are identical in name, description, price, and preparation to what is on the menu at Peso's," Hutmacher later wrote in a 20-page, obscenity-laced letter to Matador owners, reports The Seattle Weekly, which has dubbed the affair "Margaritagate." Hutchinson is now suing Matador - its investors, designers, and decorators, claiming Matador so closely imitates Peso's that customers confuse the two. Matador's owners, meanwhile, claim Hutmacher isn't pursuing legal action because of similar decorations and food; he's suing because they're so successful. (Matador has now expanded to West Seattle, Tacoma, Redmond, and Portland). And those recipes were widely available and "generic, not inherently distinctive" to Peso's. The Margaritagate lawsuit goes to trial Monday.
I've never been to Pesos, but I do know that Matador has some of the greatest nachos around.
I have been to both numerous times. I don't confuse the two. Peso's is where you stick to the tables and the floor because they are never cleaned and it crawls with rude wait staff. Matador is clean and fresh and the bartenders and wait staff are all very courteous. Even the clientele are different - Peso is filled to the hilt with baseball hat wearing frat boys and scantily clad girls who all over drink and are so rude, while the matador customer tends to be a more mature, nicer dressed and respectful person.
Brian - wake up and smell the tequila - you could be just as successful as the matador if you cleaned up your establishment and started taking care of customers who have money to spend in your place, but can't even handle having breakfast there.
This is, like, totally loco! "Hutmacher claims Opper not only stole their Mexican-inspired decor, but menu items as well." As a Mexican-American I'm offended by this Hutmacher character - not exactly a hispanic last name but you don't see me suing him for stealing his "Mexican-inspired decor" from, um, MEXICO! Just deal with the fact that there are tons of Mexican joints all over America, dude. If all those restaurants have "stolen" the idea of Mexico and Mexican food then you should be on the defense stand!
The reality is that people like me don't mind having Mexican themed restaurants run by white people or latinos or asians or african-americans. Just don't try to sue each other over it - that's insulting. Now, serve up another round of Margaritas Mr. Loco Butshaker!
READ WHAT BRIAN THINKS ABOUT MINORITIES- Taken from a Seattle PI article about Sep. 11th
---And some people, like Brian Hutmacher, a 31-year-old Seattle restaurateur, support the government's heavier scrutiny of Arabs and Muslims, even if it makes them feel uncomfortable.
"For men who are Arab, Muslim and under the age of 40, it's part of the deal. Guess what? Your people from your religion and descent have targeted innocent people in this country. It's unfortunate you happen to be included in that set of people," said Hutmacher, who operates the hip Queen Anne hangout Peso's when he's not espousing his conservative views. "If we were at war with Japan, it wouldn't make sense to be targeting people from England."----
Matador clearly ripped-off from Peso's all that is mentioned in the lawsuit. I've been a Peso's customer for years, and when Matador came to be it was so obviously its clone I thought there was some sort of connection between the two, like a franchise-type relationship. But I also think of Matador's food & ambiance as second-rate in comparison (the above mentioned "frat boy" crowd notwithstanding), so I've stuck with the original. I don't know if Peso's has a litigable case, but I now understand why Matador doesn't measure up - and never will.
Hey Gary..Thanks for having bad taste! Now I don't have to sit next to you when I go chill and enjoy the clean, delicious atmosphere of The Matador. I mean a person who would rather stick to the table, piss in dirty bathrooms, or hang w the fratty's...
Thank You! :)