As high-rise towers went up in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale and the neighborhood exploded in population and popularity in the past decade, it became known to locals as “LoLo.”
But long before that nickname was born, Scott McArthur, the owner of the Hawaiian-themed Raglan’s Bistro in Lonsdale Quay, had been using “Lolo,” which is a slang word in Hawaii, as part of his restaurant’s branding. It started back in 2005.
“I was reading a book at the time which was a Hawaiian novel, and they were using ‘Lolo’ in the book. And we were just chatting and all of a sudden we went, ‘Oh, Lolo, OK.’ And so that’s where the brand began,” said McArthur, who says he trademarked the word in 2013.
There are LoLo signs in the bistro, it’s on the glassware and the T-shirts and hats worn by staff.
McArthur was dismayed last fall when Strathcona Beer Company opened a brewpub a short walk from Raglan’s in Lonsdale Quay, and began selling a tequila fizz beverage called Lolo.
“Their LOLO beverage is in restaurants. We have the trademark for restaurant services, so therefore there is a crossover or an overlap of products,” said McArthur.
He sent Strathcona a cease-and-desist letter, and the company immediately responded
“They filed I think within seven and a half hours to expunge my trademark,” said McArthur.
In an email, Strathcona Beer Company told CTV News this is an ongoing legal matter and the company has no comment. It will be up to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to decide if McArthur’s 12-year-old Lolo trademark is defendable.
“My position is that they’re using the logo trademark in a way that’s confusing to the public, and therefore it constitutes a Section 20 trademark infringement. That will be our position if we have to argue it in court,” McArthur said.
While he didn’t know LoLo would come to mean Lower Lonsdale when he trademarked the word, he believes he’s the only business that should be allowed to use it in branding.
“As far as we use Lolo, it’s to refer to basically restaurant stuff, food and beverage,” McArthur said. “While some people use LoLo as a pet name for the area, we just ask them to remember that it started as a brand.”
