American chain threatens Native Hawaiian eatery for using 'Aloha Poke' name

Monday, July 30, 2018  

An American restaurant chain is under fire after its efforts to prevent Native Hawaiian businesses from using the words "aloha" and "poke" together came to light over the weekend.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Aloha Poke co. said it has been granted two federal trademarks to use the two Native words "in connection with restaurants, catering and take out services."

"This means that the company has the exclusive right to use those words together in connection with restaurant services within the US," the statement from the Chicago-based firm read.

The statement also decried "misinformation" regarding its efforts to prevent others from using the Hawaiian words together and in connection with the food industry. The chain claims it has never initiated "legal action" against anyone but Eater Chicago talked to one Native owner who was told to change the name of her business or face consequences.

“We just weren’t prepared to do that,” Tasha Kahele told Eater. “We were already struggling as a small family business.”

Kahele, who is Native Hawaiian, and her family opened "Aloha Poke Stop" in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2014, two years before the first "Aloha Poke" debuted in Chicago. This May, she received a cease and desist letter that gave her until July 30 to change the name of the business, Eater reported.

Though a cease and desist letter itself is not a legal action, dealing with one often comes with "significant legal ramifications," including being sued, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Rather than deal with litigation or other hindrances, Kahele opted to change the name of her eatery, even though her family had just completed new logos, menus and signage with their original name. Their shop is now known as "Lei’s Poke Stop."

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will no longer be doing business as Aloha Poke Stop," a July 28 post on Facebook read.

A poke bowl shop owner in the Midwest thinks he owns the word “Aloha.” He’s even suing Native Hawaiians. Here’s my response:

Please 'Share' + boycott. #NoAlohaPokeCo #FightForAloha pic.twitter.com/hYsclmSIkz

— Kaniela Ing (@KanielaIng) July 29, 2018

The efforts of the American company now have some Native Hawaiians calling for a boycott.

“It’s bad enough that the word has been used and commodified over time, but this is the next level,” Kaniela Ing, a Democratic state lawmaker who is running for Congress in Hawaii, said in a video posted on Twitter on Saturday. “To think that you have legal ownership over one of the most profound Hawaiian values is just something else.”

In the Hawaiian language, "Aloha" signifies love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy. It can also be used as a greeting.

Poke is a Native Hawaiian dish typically served as a salad with raw fish. A number of American companies have co-opted the cuisine, offering their own takes at eateries across the nation.

There are at least 10 different poke shops in Chicago, for example. A map on Eater DC highlights nine such eateries -- including one Aloha Poke location -- in and around the nation's capital.

Aloha Poke operates a half-dozen eateries in Chicago and has been expanding nationally. It was founded by a non-Native man who is no longer with the company.

“Unfortunately, many facts about the company’s name have been left out of the conversation on social media, but more than anything I am truly sorry that anyone, especially native Hawaiians, have been offended by this situation," founder Zach Friedlander said in a statement to Eater. "I want them to know that I have nothing but love and respect for them.”

Read More on the Story:
Aloha Poke Co. Apologizes To Native Hawaiians (Eater Chicago July 30, 2018)
Chicago’s Aloha Poke Faces Boycott Over Hawaiian Cultural Appropriation Claims (Eater Chicago July 30, 2018)
Hawaiians Call For Aloha Poke Boycott, Saying No Company Should Own The Words ‘Aloha Poke’ (Book Club Chicago July 30, 2018)
Chicago poke chain draws Hawaiian backlash for trying to restrict use of ‘aloha’ (The Chicago Sun-Times July 30, 2018)
Hawaiian activists call for boycott of Aloha Poke (The Chicago Tribune June 30, 2018)