Birmingham — Hunter House is a Woodward Avenue institution. Since 1952, its slider-style hamburgers have been hot, salty, greasy, and delicious. And now they are being served about a half of a mile south of its iconic location after a yearslong legal dispute.
A new restaurant called “Better Burgers” has taken up residence in the building, which is rumored to be scheduled for demolition. And last week, Hunter House levied a trademark lawsuit against Better Burgers for using their “trade dress”—a white-tiled building with black signage.
Hunter House built an exact replica of its former location on United Wholesale Mortgage’s campus in Pontiac, and it’s going to make its new location look pretty much the same. People know the building, the monochromatic look.
Which is why its owners allege in a 62-page complaint that Better Burgers is stealing its customers by relying on Hunter House’s branding or trade dress.
To make the situation even more awkward, an employee of Fast Signs went to Hunter House’s new location and said he was there to install signs. But Hunter House hadn’t ordered new signs.
The sign guy brought “three ‘Hamburgers’ signs and one ‘Carry Out’ sign that were identical in size, color, and font to the signs at Hunter House’s former location,” the lawsuit alleges.
“The employee was confused and went to Hunter House’s new location by mistake. He also commented that it would be ‘weird’ to install the same exact signs at Hunter House’s former location,” it said.
The lawsuit lists a host of confusing encounters arising from the new restaurant operating out of the location: A dumpster showed up at Hunter House’s new location for Better Burgers and some customers complained about a raw burger, but it was served at Better Burgers, not Hunter House.
Another argument in the lawsuit? The competing restaurant is serving up similar fare: “The Better Burgers menu consists of Hunter House’s core items such as burgers, the same side dishes, and hot dogs/coneys.”
But which one does it better?
As of Tuesday morning, Hunter House’s former location just had HAMBURGERS over the top of the windows in the distinctive monochromatic scheme of the previous restaurant. There were faux-neon signs highlighting the fact that it’s open 24/7 and serves breakfast sandwiches.
On signs taped to the doors, Better Burgers tells patrons it is not affiliated with Hunter House. The atmosphere inside is remarkably similar to the way it used to be. The iconic stools, the counter, the metal ceiling—with new signage around the room about the Dream Cruise.
The menus make fun of Better Burgers’ precarious situation by highlighting a slew of questions about the rumored demolition and how long it will last. The memey hamburger’s answer is something like: “I don’t know, that’s why I have my hands up like this.”
Mikos, the owner, works here from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. He’s young to be starting his own business, but he grew up watching his mom work in the food industry. He’s giving it his best shot. On the advice of attorneys, he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit.
He and his team made me a good cheeseburger. Pickles come on the side, and there’s ketchup and mustard on the table. The bun was yellowish and a bit chewy and sweet, almost like a brioche. It was still tied together on the side.
Afterward, I drove down the road to Hunter House. You have to order your food in a tent while they work on renovating the dining room of their new location. There are renderings on the walls, ostensibly displaying what the finished outside will look like. It’s going to be nice. There might even be a drive-thru window.
In the meantime, the tent is loud from a heavy-duty heater and seating is limited to two plastic picnic tables. I ordered the double cheeseburger with everything and some fries and sat down.
When the burger came out, it was squished by the wrapping paper. It was nothing to look at from the outside. But one bite in, I knew: Hunter House is the hands-down winner of the Birmingham burger battle.
The beef patties were saltier and more flavorful than the one I had previously eaten. The textures were comparable, but the inside of Hunter House’s was hotter, even though I was snarfing it in a tent.
It’s the real deal. There’s no substitute.
I left thinking about how it’s the perfect lunch when you’re starving and it’s cold outside because you feel well-fed afterward. Not that it’s healthy, but it’s delicious. The men eating in their work trucks would agree.
There are pictures of the former Hunter House building on the table napkin dispensers surrounded by vintage vehicles. A patron tells me this was the place in the 1960s, when he was cruising up and down Woodward. He’d always stop in with his buddies.
The location is important. An institution like Hunter House is deeply connected to this place. People come to this part of the world to remember the past and create new memories around the cars they drive and want to drive. Hunter House has been along for the ride for decades.
That’s no doubt part of why Hunter House is angry about an upstart restaurant ripping their brand logo in their old spot, especially before they finish building out their new location.
After I was done at Hunter House, I drove back up Woodward to get home. A Fast Signs guy was busy putting up Better Burgers signs on all the windows. The burger in the logo is perennially shrugging underneath the black letters that spell “HAMBURGERS.”
Even with the strategic addition of the logo, I have a feeling Better Burgers won’t stick around long, or they’ll have to make big changes to the branding. Maybe they can make a public apology, renovate, and try again.
There’s only one establishment with 73 years of serving delicious food on this street.
Brendan Clarey is deputy editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
