Corny Dog News

Fletcher’s Corny Dogs wins trademark dispute against family member

It's all surrounding the glorious corny dog.

Photo courtesy of Fletcher's

The most famous brand associated with the State Fair of Texas has won a battle over the use of its name. Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dogs, LLC won a big victory in a trademark dispute with a company started by family members seeking to capitalize on the reputation of the Fletcher's brand.

The dispute involves two factions of the Fletcher family, whose ancestors Neil and Carl Fletcher invented corn dogs in Dallas in 1938 and introduced them at the 1942 State Fair of Texas.

Fletcher's corn dogs have become synonymous with the State Fair of Texas, and the Fletcher's name has become internationally known.

Skip Fletcher was the longtime patriarch and friendly face of the company until he passed away in 2017. His wife GG, daughter Amber, and son Aaron carried on the tradition, while updating the menu with new items such as the cheese-filled Cheesy Dog.

In early 2019, Victoria Fletcher, who worked for many years at the State Fair stand, and her daughter Jace Fletcher Christensen, formed a company called Fletcher-Warner Holdings, and launched a popup concept called Fletch, serving their versions of corn dogs, featuring hot dogs, sausage, and cheese.

Fletcher's requested that Jace and Victoria choose a non-similar name, and offered time to re-brand their company. "It was only when they refused that the Fletcher family decided they had no alternative but to pursue litigation to protect their fans and their famous brand," a spokesperson says.

In September 2019, Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs filed a trademark infringement case against Fletcher-Warner Holdings. According to lawsuit documents, they filed because they deemed the name Fletch to be too similar and therefore confusing.

"Corn dog fans, event organizers and the media alike, long familiar with the quality and reputation of Fletcher's brand corn dogs, mistakenly believed that Fletch was somehow affiliated with Fletcher’s and their products were from the same source," the suit says.

The suit was resolved in their favor. On January 13, a federal court in Plano ordered that the defendants could not use "Fletcher's," "Fletch," "Eat Fletch," and "EatFletch," in any form. A written order was issued on January 17.

"We are thrilled with the court’s ruling and are grateful for the public support and enthusiasm of our many fans," Amber Fletcher says in a statement. "We regret the confusion some of our fans experienced from Fletch's actions, but we hope that the court's order will quickly begin to eliminate the confusion so that our fans may be assured that they are enjoying genuine Fletcher's brand corn dogs."

In the midst of the court actions, Jace and Victoria quickly launched their new venture, opening a restaurant on Technology Boulevard, and hanging a temporary banner that says "corn dogs, funnel cakes, bar."

Jace says that she and Victoria will now comply, and are seeking public input on a name replacement. "I really want to let the community decide on the new name," she says.

Amber, Aaron, and GG say they're just grateful to have it resolved.

"We feel a deep sense of gratitude and are excited to move forward and focus on the many exciting events and projects Fletcher's has happening this year," Amber says.

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Deep Ellum News

Trinity Cider partners with Picadera street food in new Dallas venture

Trinity Cider

An exciting new food & drink venue is coming in Deep Ellum: Called Trinity Cider X Picadera, it will combine two great tastes — Trinity Cider, the sophisticated craft cider maker; and Picadera, the award-winning Dominican street food concept — under one delicious roof.

The new spot will be located at 2721 Main St. in Deep Ellum, in the former Crowdus Bar and, before that, home of Drugstore Cowboy, and is scheduled to open in December.

Trinity Cider is the laid-back bar that's been serving house-made craft ciders, sake, and beer at their current location at 2656 Main St. since 2018. They'd already been thinking about a larger space, and jumped at the opportunity when Crowdus Bar closed. The new bar will be triple the size of their current spot, and it comes with a kitchen, which allows them to have a consistent food offering, as opposed to the pop-ups they currently host.

For Trinity Cider owners Evan Kalstad and Brian Meyer, Picadera was the perfect choice.

“We have had over 20 companies who do pop-ups, and a lot of them were interested in running our kitchen, but it came down to the food I liked," Kalstad says.

Picadera is from Michael Tavarez, who started the concept as a pop-up in 2020, doing Latin street food, setting up camp at buzzy spots around town, creating a space where he could give Dominican people a taste of home. He drew a large and loyal following not only for his authentic and heartfelt dishes but also for the festive patio party experience that always arose.

Trinity Cider Picadera Trinity Cider X PicaderaPicadera

In 2023, Picadera moved from pop-up model to ghost kitchen, with three Latin food concepts at Commerce Fork Food Co. While this expanded the business, it also diluted the street parties Picadera was known for. Cooking in a closed kitchen focusing on to-go items took out all the fun.

“Mentally, I was done, so I had to close it," Tavarez says. "But I got a lot of positive comments and support, so I knew I could not let my brand die."

It was a breath of fresh air when Tavarez got a chance to participate at the State Fair, and real validation when he helped work on the dish that won the Big Tex Choice award for Best Savory item, the Dominican Fritura Dog. (Tavarez partnered with the Martinez family who've been at the state fair of Texas since 1977.) The positive energy continued when he got the chance to partner with Trinity Cider.

They're still finalizing the menu, but it will include favorites like empanadas, croquettes, tostones rellenos, Dominican smashed burgers, a bodega chopped cheese sandwich, and a Wagyu hot dog.

They're also working on dishes that can be enjoyed while dining in and paired with draft cider. The star dish will be a Dominican twist on steak frites, with skirt steak, plantain fries, and Wasakaka sauce, a herby sauce resembling chimichurri. This plate will be also available with camarones al ajillo as an add-on, for a surf and turf option.

Options include mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish of mashed plantains, served with proteins such as pork belly, churrasco, camaron al ajilllo, and queso frito as a meatless option. Dessert will include a tres leches cake made with famous Entenmann's pound cake; and Yaniqueque, a Dominican dessert similar to buñuelos, cut into strips, with dulce de leche ice cream.

The food menu is designed to complement the all-natural, gluten-free hard cider provided by Trinity Cider. Seasonal cider flavors will include pineapple, passion fruit, watermelon, peach tree, and slightly spicy mango, which they will rotate regularly. Their drink menu will also include non-alcoholic cider, as well as their famous sake bombs.

“Hard cider and Dominican food go very well together. A lot of the things that pair well with cider are ingredients that Dominican food is based on. It is a match made in heaven," Evan says.

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