McDonald’s is being sued by family owned restaurant Lions Tap:

Who’s your patty? For many Minnesota residents it certainly is not McDonald’s. 

Residents of Eden Prairie, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis, are outraged with McDonald’s slogan for their new Angus Burger. “Who’s your patty?” The people who frequent Lions Tap have a sense of pride about the seemingly simple burger joint founded in 1958, and don’t want to see their good name trampled on by anybody, especially not a fast food restaurant like McDonald’s. 

“Who’s your patty?” happens to be a longtime running slogan for the local, award winning burger joint, Lions Tap. Located on the outskirts of Eden Prairie overlooking the scenic Minnesota River valley, Lions Tap is recognized as one of the top 500 restaurants in the nation. They were also recently awarded “Best Hamburgers” in Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine among many other surveys done and they do so year after year. 

Their menu is simple; burgers, fries, and drinks.

Many residents have been going to Lions Tap for years, enjoying their simple, no frills menu and their lodge-like atmosphere. For years, servers have been wearing t-shirts proclaiming “Who’s your patty?”

The majestic lion, donning a crown, holding a burger and their signature root beer, has let its presence be known. This small, family-owned, one-of-a-kind establishment filed a lawsuit in federal courts on August 28th, 2009 against fast food mega-giant, McDonalds. They have until September 4 to respond to the suit.  An excerpt from the filing:

“So — where’s the beef between our local favorite ‘David’ (Lion’s Tap) and the mighty global ‘Goliath’ (McDonald’s)? In a move worthy of the Hamburglar or Captain Crook, McDonald’s recently started utilizing Lion’s Tap’s ‘WHO’S YOUR PATTY?’ trademark in conjunction with McDonald’s Angus Burgers. Lion’s Tap is forced to ‘Grimmace’ and commence this lawsuit to protect its valuable ‘WHO’S YOUR PATTY?’ trademark.”

Lions Tap is asking to have McDonald’s stop using their slogan and for damages awarded for three times McDonald’s profits or Lions Taps damages, whichever is greater. The roar of this local pop culture icon will be heard.