Queso News

Chef breaks silence on landmark Austin restaurant's queso lawsuit

Texas takes its queso seriously.

Photo courtesy of Matt's

Fort Worth chef Grady Spears is sharing his side of the story regarding a lawsuit that was filed over queso.

On June 28, Austin restaurant Matt's El Rancho filed a lawsuit against Spears' Fort Worth restaurant, Horseshoe Hill Cafe, for featuring "Bob Armstrong Dip" — queso with guacamole and crumbled taco beef thrown in — on its menu.

Bob Armstrong Dip was named after Texas politician Robert Landis Armstrong and has been served both at Matt's El Rancho in Austin — and at Horseshoe Hill Cowboy Café in Fort Worth — for many years.

Matt's claimed that it had proprietary rights to the name of the doctored-up queso recipe, and charged Horseshoe Hill with "trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unjust enrichment."

But a statement from Spears' lawyer emphasizes that Spears had the dish on his menu as a tribute, with the creator's blessing.

"A longtime friendship between Matt Martinez, Jr., of Matt’s El Rancho, and Grady Spears of Horseshoe Hill Cowboy Café included them traveling together and collaborating on television segments on food," the statement says. "Grady considered Matt his mentor, and Matt treated Grady like a son."

"In a moment between the mentor and adopted son, Grady told Matt that he would always keep his spirit alive by having his Bob Armstrong Dip on Grady's restaurant menu, and Matt gave Grady his blessing to serve the dish under the moniker 'Bob Armstrong,'" the statement says.

Spears has had the Bob Armstrong Dip tribute dish on his menu for more than 15 years, at every restaurant he's has been a part of.

"Matt Martinez, Jr., was the King of Tex Mex and served as a mentor to me throughout my career," Spears says in a statement. "I continue to honor Matt's memory in my restaurant, as I promised Matt I would, as he courageously battled cancer prior to his passing. With his blessing, I used the name of Bob Armstrong on a queso-based dip inspired by his inimitable culinary style."

After the lawsuit surfaced, Horseshoe Hill Cowboy Café voluntarily changed the name of its dip to the "Famous Lawsuit Dip."

Lance H. "Luke" Beshara, Spears' defense attorney, says the claims lack merit.

"Aside from the fact that the plaintiff corporation admits that Grady Spears' late friend Matt Martinez, Jr., created and coined the dish, and Matt gave Grady Spears permission to use the name, there is no viable trademark claim because no consumer could possibly be confused that a queso-dip at a restaurant in the Fort Worth Stockyards has anything to do with another dip at a restaurant 200 miles away in Austin," he says.

Matt's manager Paul Counter did not respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit and dispute remain unresolved.

Spears says the episode has him shocked and saddened.

"As a tribute and inspiration, I display many pictures of Matt throughout my restaurant," Spears says. "I'm shocked and saddened that a faceless corporation would attack me for honoring the legacy of my dear late friend, Matt, though I’m glad this hullabaloo has brought his name back into the limelight where it deserves to be."

"I just hope they don't demand that I take down Matt's pictures next," he says.

tex-mex

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.