Why Burger King can't use its name – or open – in one small Illinois town
MATTOON, Ill. – Burger King, one of the nation's most recognized fast-food chains and home of the iconic Whopper burger, can use its name almost anywhere in the United States. That is, except in one small, specific part of central Illinois.
This rare exception stems from a long-standing trademark dispute with a small, family-run restaurant in Mattoon, Illinois, which for much of its existence has also been named 'Burger King.'
The Mattoon restaurant, known as the 'Original Burger King' in the present day, was founded in 1957 by Gene and Betty Hoots. Many decades later, it still operates at its original location at 1508 Charleston Avenue.
The Mattoon 'Burger King' has a classic diner feel and prides itself on 'fresh, never frozen' burgers. It originally opened next to the Hoots family ice cream stand, Frigid Queen, which opened in 1952.
According to the 'Original Burger King' Facebook page, when once discussing the restaurant, Betty Hoots once suggested 'Every Queen needs a King. Let's call it 'Burger King,'' envisioning a simple concept focused on burgers and fries.
Meanwhile, the Burger King fast-food chain, under a trademark of Burger King Corporation, was founded in 1954 in Jacksonville, Florida. As Burger King evolved into one of the world's largest fast food chains, the Burger King Corporation expanded to Illinois in the early 1960s.
According to a 2003 report from the Illinois Times, Burger King Corporation opened its first Illinois restaurant in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago, in 1961. Then, the chain moved closer to Mattoon, opening a restaurant in Champaign, Illinois. By 1967, there were at least 50 Burger King chain locations operating across the state.
From there, it didn't take much longer for the Mattoon 'Burger King' to take action. In 1968, the Hoots family formally filed a lawsuit against the growing Burger King fast food chain. The Hoots family claimed they first held the trademark to the 'Burger King' name in Illinois and wanted to stand their ground.
Eventually, the courts sided in favor of the Hoots family. A judge ruled that while Burger King Corporation held the federal 'Burger King' trademark, the Hoots family had established prior local use of the 'Burger King' trademark in Mattoon and the state of Illinois.
As a result, the court found that the Burger King chain could not operate under that name within a 20-miles radius of Mattoon, Illinois. The ruling still stands today and bars the fast-food giant from opening a 'Burger King' restaurant in Mattoon and many nearby communities.
Some time after the ruling, according to the Illinois Times, the Burger King Corporation once offered the Hoots family $10,000 for the right to operate a Burger King chain restaurant within a 20-miles radius of Mattoon. The family declined that offer.
The 'Original Burger King' restaurant changed ownership in 2017, leading to its slightly revised name, though it is still protected by the historic court ruling.
The legal battle represented a significant moment in U.S. trademark law for its interpretation of the Lanham Act, which governs federal trademarks. The unique case stands as a rare example of a local business in a small Midwest town successfully fending off a challenge from a big-name brand.
Mattoon is a community of nearly 16,000 people, located in the eastern-central part of Illinois in Coles County. It is located nearly two hours east of St. Louis and an hour south of Champaign, Illinois.
Burger King, the national chain, operates nearly 6,800 restaurants across the United States, even if landlocked out of one small patch of Illinois.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
26 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Wholesale Inflation Undershot Forecasts in May
Wholesale inflation undershot expectations last month, according to a Labor Department report that came a day after a weaker-than-forecast reading on consumer prices. Producer prices rose 0.1% in May from April, below the 0.2% rise economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Over the past 12 months, the producer-price index rose 2.6%, slightly above April's revised figure.
Wall Street Journal
30 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
RH Swings to Surprise Profit Despite Tariff Pressures
RH swung to a profit in its fiscal first quarter despite the impact of tariffs on spending and the shakiest housing market in decades, pushing its shares higher after hours. The furniture retailer posted a profit of $8 million, or 40 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 3. That stacks against a loss of $3.6 million, or 20 cents a share, in the comparable quarter a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting another loss.
New York Times
38 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Shifts Deportation Focus, Pausing Raids on Farms, Hotels and Eateries
The Trump administration has abruptly shifted the focus of its mass deportation campaign, telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, according to an internal email and three U.S. officials with knowledge of the guidance. The decision suggested that the scale of President Trump's mass deportation campaign — an issue that is at the heart of his presidency — is hurting industries and constituencies that he does not want to lose. The new guidance comes after protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's immigration raids, including at farms and businesses. It also came as Mr. Trump made a rare concession this week that his crackdown was hurting American farmers and hospitality businesses. The guidance was sent on Thursday in an email by a senior ICE official, Tatum King, to regional leaders of the ICE department that generally carries out criminal investigations, including work site operations, known as Homeland Security Investigations. 'Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' he wrote in the message. The email explained that investigations involving 'human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are OK.' But it said — crucially — that agents were not to make arrests of 'non-criminal collaterals,' a reference to people who are undocumented but who are not known to have committed any other crime. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
