Click here to return to the table of contents page
LRA Asks James Beard to Add Latinos to Board
Christy Vega
The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) and others are pressuring the James Beard Foundation to increase Latino representation on its board.
“The foundation’s mission statement talks about elevating diversity, but there are no Latinos on the board,” says Christy Vega, a James Beard Award winner and owner of Casa Vega in Los Angeles. “I filed a formal ethics complaint that said, ‘You have 27 board members and not one Latino? That’s not acceptable.’”
Vega, a member of the Latino Restaurant Association board, later spoke with Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach. After that conversation, LRA CEO Lilly Rocha wrote a letter to the foundation and issued a press release about the situation.
The letter stated, in part: "Achieving diversity requires a concerted effort to identify and invite individuals who can contribute meaningfully to the Foundation's mission. By actively seeking out qualified Latino candidates who embody excellence, innovation, and a deep understanding of culinary arts, the Foundation can elevate its impact and relevance within an ever-evolving culinary landscape."
Nancy Lutktish, chair of the JBF board responded: “The James Beard Foundation is committed to a diverse and inclusive Board of Trustees, including deepening our relationship with, and increasing the representation of the Latino community. …We acknowledge the need for more Latino presence on the Board of Trustees, especially recognizing the community's invaluable contribution to the culinary industry, food culture, and the broader food system in the U.S.”
Michelin Guide Honors Valle with Star
Valle, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Oceanside, California, received a Michelin star on July 18. The restaurant, opened by Chef Roberto Alcocer in 2021, was the only Mexican restaurant so honored in this year’s awards.
Chef Roberto Alcocer
The Michelin Guide wrote this to describe the restaurant: “Celebrated chef Roberto Alcocer brings his refined, modern expression of Mexican cuisine stateside at this elegant space in the Mission Pacific Hotel, overlooking the scenic Oceanside Pier. The name is a nod to the Guadalupe Valley of Baja California, Mexico’s premier viticultural region, and the source of a plethora of interesting options on the wine list. Diners can make selections from a four-course prix fixe, or leave things entirely in the kitchen’s hands for an eight-course tasting. Dishes strike a winning balance between tradition with creativity, as in a tetela made with heirloom corn masa and hoja santa, filled with juicy chanterelle mushrooms and creamy goat cheese, and paired with a complex salsa of morita chiles—at once earthy and bright.”
In 2022, four Mexican restaurants received Michelin stars: Los Felix in Miami, Quetzal in Toronto, KOL in London, and Come in Barcelona. In total there are now 10 Mexican restaurants with a Michelin star, and one with two stars, Californios in San Francisco.
Rapper Pitbull Invests in Cilantro Taco Grill Expansion
People probably don’t associate Mexican food with rapper Pitbull, but the entertainer is partnering with the owners of Chicago-based Cilantro Taco Grill in an effort to expand that restaurant through franchising. Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, says he is investing in the multi-unit because he likes the “American dream” story behind the owners.
“I invested in Cilantro because I was inspired by [the] Morfins’ stories of struggle and stride for a slice of the American pie,” says Perez, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents. “I relate to those with an underdog mentality because I am also a person who fights and works hard for the American Dream.”
Cilantro Taco Grill was founded in 2013 by Temoc Morfin, who says he was inspired to bring the family’s recipes to the public by his father, “Don Javi” Morfin, an immigrant from Guadalajara. The restaurant, which now has 15 locations throughout the Chicago area, is known for its Jalisco-style cuisine, such as Cecina a la Mexicana and Milanesa de Pollo.
The effort to franchise the restaurant is being led by Fransmart, a franchise development firm. The leaders aim to grow Cilantro Taco Grill to 1,000 units worldwide over the next 10 years, with initial efforts focused on the nation’s top 100 largest markets.
We Told You: “Taco Tuesday” Can Be Used by Anybody
Taco Tuesday
By Ed Avis
Were you worried about using the phrase “Taco Tuesday” because Taco John’s held the trademark to the phrase and threatened legal action against other restaurants using it? Well, you can stop worrying: On July 18 the chain officially announced that it will drop its trademark claim on the phrase.
Even though the company had long claimed it owned the term, and occasionally sent cease-and-desist letters to restaurants using it, the threat was actually hollow. In 2019, el Restaurante researched the issue and learned that the company had filed only three trademark infringement cases about the term since it gained the trademark in 1989. One was dismissed and no conclusion information was available on the other two.
More important, trademark attorneys we interviewed at that time said Taco John’s trademark was simply not enforceable because the phrase was too common.
“Infringement of a trademark normally means you are creating a likelihood of confusion of between our trademark and your use of it,” noted Kevin Grierson, a partner and intellectual property co-chair at law firm Culhane Meadows. “But that’s nonsense in this case. No one thinks the taqueria down the street is part of Taco John’s just because they advertise ‘Taco Tuesday.’”
The attorneys explained that if someone contested Taco John’s claim to the phrase and won the case, Taco John’s could be forced to abandon the trademark altogether. Nobody forcefully contested the phrase for several decades, so Taco John’s was able to continue browbeating other users by sending the letters. But that changed in May when Taco Bell – a much larger rival – took up the fight and challenged Taco John’s by filing a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark.
Taco John’s decided the fight wasn’t worth it.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on being the home of Taco Tuesday, but paying millions of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do,” said Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel in a statement the company released July 18 announcing that they were officially abandoning the trademark.
The company is putting a positive spin on the situation by donating money to non-profit organization Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE), which supports restaurant workers when the employee, spouse or a child faces a life-altering health crisis, injury, death or natural disaster.
“As we’ve said before, we’re lovers, not fighters, at Taco John’s,” Creel said in the statement. “So in that spirit, we have decided to begin sharing Taco Tuesday with a pledge to contribute $100 per location in our system to restaurant employees with children who are battling a health crisis, death or natural disaster. “
Creel went on to challenge other taco chains to match their donation: “Let’s see if our friends at Taco Bell are willing to ‘liberate’ themselves from their army of lawyers by giving back to restaurant families instead. We challenge them to match our $100-per-restaurant pledge – that’s about $720,000 – which is less than they’d have to spend in a legal battle for the mark. We also invite Del Taco, Taco Bueno, Taco Cabana, Jack In The Box and mom and pop taco shops across the country that intend to use Taco Tuesday in the future to join us in this movement to support working families and donate to CORE.”
The bottom-line: Now you can promote your Taco Tuesday specials as much as you want without worrying about getting that nagging letter – or lawsuit – from Taco John’s.