Cease and Desist: Wichita restaurant forced to rename popular breakfast item

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Local breakfast and brunch restaurant, HomeGrown, is in a predicament with one of its popular menu items. Because “Pop-Tart” is trademarked by Kellogg’s, the name is off limits. The pastry itself, however, can stay, just under a different name on the menu.

For the past six years, Wichita’s HomeGrown has been serving up the fan favorite. It recently learned Kellogg’s owns the name, “Pop-Tart.” HomeGrown is looking to change the name.

“We opened up six years ago last week in west Wichita and one of the things we had on our menu when we opened was Pop-Tarts,” said HomeGrown Founder Jon Rolph.

Rolph said the cease and desist letter form Kellogg’s caught him off guard, but with the adversity, the popular restaurant sees opportunity.

“We understand trademarks and it’s their trademark. So, we wanted to respond with kindness, which is how we like to interact with the world,” Rolph said. “So now, we’re trying to figure out what we’re gonna call them if we’re not gonna call them Pop-Tarts.

After sharing its predicament on Facebook, HomeGrown has been flooded with more than 500 suggestions, some that stand out with their cleverness.

“Someone with a sense of humor shared that, ‘it’s a shame you’re not on Kellogg Avenue, you could call them Kellogg Tarts,’” Rolph said.

For now, you can pop into HomeGrown for an “HG Tart,” until the restaurant decides on a new name for the classic treat.

“I feel like we’re doing our best to make Wichita proud and we’ll do it with whatever this is, whether it’s a Pop-Tart, Wichita-Tart or Mom-Tart. Whatever it is, we’ll keep people smiling,” Rolph said.

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