Nando’s launches legal action against alleged copycat restaurant

The director of Fernando’s claims the name was inspired by ‘Take Me Out’

(Getty Images)

A restaurant in Reading is potentially facing legal action from international restaurant chain Nando’s for allegedly infringing on its intellectual property rights.

Last September Fernando’s, a restaurant in Reading specialising in chicken, opened its doors.

After months of successful business, the eatery started receiving positive reviews for its food online, with some people describing its chicken as superior to Nando’s.

It was then that the independent restaurant received a notice from Nando’s stating that it was infringing on its intellectual property rights and had to rebrand in order to avoid further legal action.

According to Fernando’s director Asam Aziz, the restaurant did not mean to bear likeness to Nando’s in any way.

“We came across a recipe, a peri peri recipe, which we sort of adapted ourselves, and thought hang on a minute, this is really nice and we can actually start selling it to the public,” Aziz told The Independent.

“For anybody who’s done their research, they’ll understand that peri peri is a Portuguese recipe, so obviously our whole concept had to be Portuguese.”

Aziz enjoyed watching Take Me Out on a Saturday night, which is apparently where the inspiration for the name "Fernando’s" originated from, as couples who match on the dating show are taken to a holiday resort of the same name.

“Fernando’s always stuck in my head, so we thought let’s go for a Portuguese name, so we stuck with Fernando’s,” he explained.

When searching for a logo to accompany the restaurant, they settled on the Barcelo, a well-known symbol for chicken in Portugal.

Aziz believes that Nando’s only decided to confront Fernando’s in regard to its branding when customers began comparing the quality of the food.

“We had no intention of copying Nando’s,” he said.

“Then we opened up, everything started going really well and the reviews started coming in with a lot of our customers saying that we were better than Nando’s.

“It’s only from that point that Nando’s ever contacted us.”

There is a branch of Nando’s situated on Friar Street in Reading, a four-minute walk from Fernando’s according to Google Maps.

“It’s never been an issue,” Aziz said.

“It’s only once we started getting super busy and people were writing reviews saying that the chicken was much better than Nando’s, and I think that’s why they’ve taken this lawsuit out.”

Aziz was informed by a letter that if he didn’t change several aspects of his restaurant’s branding within a certain time frame, that there would be serious consequences.

“I just thought, 'Are you serious?' A tiny shop like me and a conglomerate, multinational company like Nando’s being threatened by me, it was just such a shock.”

Aziz has stated that he’s invested all of his money into the business and so may be forced to adhere to Nando’s demands as he cannot afford to lose the case in court.

“It’s just an unnecessary cost to a new business just trying to make ends meet as it is,” he said.

Nando's has insisted that its decision to call out Fernando's for trademark infringement was well-founded.

“We are really proud of our brand and we know it means a lot to our customers,” a Nando’s spokesperson told The Independent.

“That’s why whenever we think there is a trademark infringement we try to sort it out amicably.

“We have asked this restaurant to rebrand because we believe it is trying to benefit from some of the things that make us who we are - our menu, logo and even our name."