NJ bar owner ends legal beef with Taco Bell over ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark

Taco Tuesday is finally for everyone — even in New Jersey.

After a months-long battle with a Jersey Shore bar and restaurant over the trademark for Taco Tuesday, fast food giant Taco Bell said in a press release Tuesday that the trademark to the name had been relinquished.

“When we set out to free Taco Tuesday, we did it for all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos,” said Taco Bell Chief Global Brand and Strategy Officer and incoming Chief Executive Officer, Sean Tresvant. “Taco Bell wants everyone to have the opportunity to celebrate Taco Tuesday.”

It stems from the fight that Gregory Gregory, the owner of Gregory’s Bar and Restaurant in Somers Point, held over the name to the weekly celebration of Mexican food.

“I want it to be known that we are the original ‘Taco Tuesday.’ We started it,” Gregory previously told NBC Philadelphia, saying that they were the originator of the popular phrase.

Gregory trademarked the term “Taco Tuesday” in 1982. In 1989, Taco John’s, a Wyoming-based restaurant chain, won the rights to “Taco Tuesday” in every state except for New Jersey. Over the years, Taco John’s would send cease-and-desist orders to anyone besides Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar that dared to have a “Taco Tuesday” promotion.

And there were plenty of battles. Even NBA star LeBron James – whose Taco Tuesday celebrations became a viral sensation on social media – previously got in on the action, filing unsuccessfully for his own Taco Tuesday trademark. James later collaborated with Taco Bell in a commercial pushing for an end to the copyright. 

The disputes culminated with Taco Bell filing with U.S. trademark regulators in May 2023 to get Taco John’s and Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar to abandon their trademarks, saying the term had become too widely used to belong to any one person or business.

Despite his frustration with the recent battles over the name, Gregory also acknowledged the publicity his fight with Taco Bell has generated for his business. 

“We have gotten a lot of customers that were new because they saw it,” he said. 

On the flipside, Gregory previously admitted that a long legal battle with Taco Bell could be very expensive, noting that he “can’t take this too far,” he said. 

Finally, in July, Taco John’s surrendered its claim to “Taco Tuesday,” freeing Taco Bell (or anyone) to use the phrase in 49 states, with New Jersey a notable exception.

And now that exception is no more.

“Thanks to Gregory’s choice to relinquish the trademark registration, New Jersey businesses and fans can fully enjoy Taco Tuesday, effective immediately,” Taco Bell said in a release. Gregory’s relinquished their trademark registration on Oct. 20.

Now all restaurants across the country will be able use the Taco Tuesday term whenever and however they like.

“Taco Tuesday has always been a source of pride for my family and our restaurant, but we recognize Taco Tuesday is widely celebrated and embraced beyond our four walls,” said Gregory Gregory, co-owner of Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar, home of the original Taco Tuesday in New Jersey. “We’re excited to share Taco Tuesday with the entire New Jersey community and though we’ve relinquished the trademark registration, you can bet Taco Tuesdays will live on at Gregory’s forever.”

Now Taco Bell Rewards Members will be able to join in the celebration in November, with a free Doritos Locos taco being given away on Nov. 21.