It’s El Palacio de los Jugos vs. El Patio de los Jugos in a very Miami trademark lawsuit

Call it The Juice War. Or because it’s Miami, La Guerra de los Jugos.

El Palacio de los Jugos, a landmark chain of open-air eateries specializing in tropical fruit drinks and the savory Latin comfort food that Miami loves, is going after a competitor in Hialeah that sports a similar red-and-yellow restaurant awning.

Oh, and a familiar sounding name: El Patio de los Jugos.

El Palacio de los Jugos, or the Juice Palace, this week filed a federal trademark lawsuit against El Patio de los Jugos, or the Juice Patio. El Patio’s “similar appearance” and “highly phonetic sound and pronunciation” increases “the likelihood of confusion” for customers, the lawsuit says.

El Patio’s owner says he won’t be squeezed.

Yoel Hernandez got served the lawsuit on Wednesday as a reporter pulled up to the tiny cafeteria at 64 W. 49th St., in a blue-collar strip mall along the busy thoroughfare.

Like its bigger competition, the restaurant offers staple Cuban food such as ropa vieja (shredded beef), arroz con pollo (rice and chicken) and lechón (roasted pork) laid out in a cafeteria-style smorgasbord. Food can be purchased by the pound, or as a meal. Unlike El Palacio, El Patio offers Cuban pizza, distinct from your usual pie because it features a thicker dough and Gouda cheese.

“It’s completely different,” Hernandez said. “Patio is Patio. Palace is Palace.”

Hernandez said he bought the cafeteria — and its name — more than a year ago, fulfilling a lifelong dream of owning a restaurant. He is vowing to counter-sue.

“Maybe they’re suing because my food is better,” Hernandez said, in Spanish.

An attorney for El Palacio did not return a call or email seeking comment. The chain’s managing director, Jorge de la Llama, declined to talk about the ongoing litigation.

Restaurant trademark wars happen all the time. McDonald’s is famous for litigating over “Mc” and “Mac” added to restaurant names, including that one time it prevented an Indian restaurant from using the name “McIndians.” Earlier this year, however, the giant lost a court battle with an Irish fast food chain called Supermacs.

But El Palacio de los Jugos is super Miami.

Over the past four decades, the chain has expanded to ten locations from South Beach to Hialeah. An eleventh location will open soon. It was started in 1977 when Apolonia Bermudez and her then-husband Reinaldo Bermudez invested in a small fruit store named Palacio de los Jugos on Flagler Street and 57th Avenue.

Palacio de los Jugos was named for its long list of drinks made of tropical fruits such as mamey, papaya or coconut.

But the chain became just as famous for its typical Cuban food like arroz congri, a dish including rice and black beans, and chicharrónes, or fried pork rinds. It also serves sandwiches, seafood, baked goods and has fresh fruits — all in an open-air market style.

The chain has become the darling of Miami Latin cuisine — it’s often featured as must-visit spot for tourists.

Martha Stewart called it “some of the best Hispanic food in Miami” and an “institution.” In 2012, the chain hosted a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Miami Herald’s food critic, Carlos Frias, wrote “Miami runs on coffee and pork, and that’s why locals love El Palacio de los Jugos.”

But success breeds imitators — and El Palacio de los Jugos hasn’t been shy about going after phony palaces.

For years, restaurants and markets with similar themes have sprung up across Miami-Dade County.

There’s La Capital de los Jugos (The Juice Capital), El Rey de los Jugos (The Juice King), and El Castillo de las Frutas (The Fruit Castle).

The Palacio chain has filed at least two previous trademark lawsuits.

A few years ago, the chain sued a man who owned Palacio de los Jugos Cuban Cuisine in Hialeah, and Palacios de los Jugos Latin & Proud, in North Miami. He never responded to the lawsuit and was ordered to stop using the trademark in 2011. The locations have since shut down.

The Palacio lawsuit says the company sent Hernandez a cease-and-desist letter in February. It went unanswered.

The suit is asking for damages — that El Patio be forced to change its name and look. The case is set before U.S. District Senior Judge Paul C. Huck.

This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 6:00 AM.