Passers-by may have noticed that a longtime restaurant across from the University of Akron campus no longer has a Buffalo Wild Wings sign.
Instead, a new sign says “Gridiron.”
The popular wings restaurant and bar — also referred to by its old nickname, BW-3 — hasn’t been sold. The owners changed the name because of a court battle with the corporate Buffalo Wild Wings.
The Bord family that has owned the Akron restaurant for 25 years closed it June 20, removed all of the Buffalo Wild Wings logos and merchandise, performed about $100,000 in renovations and reopened a week later with a new name and menu.
Those who frequent Gridiron on Exchange, located in a prime spot on Exchange Street across from UA’s InfoCision football stadium, can still get wings, along with other fare like burgers, salads, hot dogs and wraps.
“We want to encourage people to come in and give us a try,” said Christine Bord-Ferris, whose late father, his two brothers and sister own the Akron restaurant. “Give us a chance.”
Kevin Bord, Christine’s brother, suggested that the family open a BW-3 after falling in love with the restaurant while attending Ohio State University. At the time, BW-3 restaurants, which now dot the globe, were mainly on campuses. (BW-3 stood for Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck; the company notes on its website that it dropped “Weck” from its name in 1998.)
The Bord family formed BW-3 Akron and obtained a license from the corporate owner to open a restaurant on the UA campus in 1991. They chose the site of the former Armadillo bar and restaurant.
A licensing agreement gave the family the right to operate new BW-3 restaurants in Summit County and the right of first refusal for any new locations in Medina, Stark, Portage and Mahoning counties.
David Bertsch, the Bord family’s attorney, said the family got an offer in 2013 to buy the restaurant, property and licensing rights for $1 million and reached out to Buffalo Wild Wings to see if it would be interested in the purchase.
Company officials were interested, but the talks fell through in the spring of 2014 when the Bord family asserted its right to be compensated for Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants opened in surrounding counties, a claim the company disputed.
The Bords filed a lawsuit in Summit County Common Pleas Court in June 2014, claiming Buffalo Wild Wings had breached the licensing agreement by opening new restaurants and not giving the family the right of first refusal.
Buffalo Wild Wings sued BW-3 Akron in U.S. District Court in May, seeking a termination of the licensing agreement because the restaurant had refused to invest more than $300,000 to update the “stadia” design being used in the corporation’s new and renovated locations. The suit claimed the restaurant was violating the federal Lantham Act that governs trademarks and unfair competition and sought treble damages — three times the amount of compensatory or actual damages — and attorney fees.
Both lawsuits are still pending.
With the threat of damages of this magnitude, the Bord family decided to close and reopen with a new name, look and menu.
“They put the squeeze on us and forced us to shut down,” Bertsch said.
Besides removing all the Buffalo Wild Wings items and putting them in storage, the other updates included steam cleaning, painting the walls a darker blue, and adding new chairs, booths and UA sports memorabilia. The family found a new food vendor and developed a basic menu that later may be expanded.
The Bords, who also own real-estate and moving companies in Akron, think Buffalo Wild Wings is trying to get out of the licensing agreement and wants to expand to Summit and surrounding counties.
“They’re trying to get this territory for free,” Bertsch said.
Bord-Ferris said her family is the “little guy,” while Buffalo Wild Wings is the “big guy.”
John Fairweather, an Akron attorney for the Minnesota-based Buffalo Wild Wings, and Kerry Bundy, a Minneapolis attorney for the company didn’t return phone messages seeking comment.
Buffalo Wild Wings spokeswoman Heather Leiferman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Gridiron’s business has so far been slow, which manager Steve Henderson and the owners attribute to the summer and the name change. They hope it will increase when school starts again next month and football season begins.
Jason Williams, who works at FirstEnergy, made his second trip to Gridiron last week. He said he misses it being a Buffalo Wild Wings, but prefers the new lower prices.
“I’m back today, so it obviously wasn’t terrible,” he said, chuckling.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.