| Two Pesos | |
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1982 |
| Closed | 1993 |
| City | Houston |
| State | Texas |
| Country | U.S. |
Two Pesos was aTex-Mex restaurant chain in theU.S. state ofTexas that opened in 1982 inHouston. It was similar toTaco Cabana but Two Pesos never opened in Taco Cabana's home market ofSan Antonio. The Two Pesos chain was sold toTaco Cabana in 1993 after losing a drawn-outtrade dress suit that appeared before theUnited States Supreme Court.
Two Pesos was started in 1985 by Houston restaurateur Marno McDermot, who had been in negotiations with Taco Cabana's management to take the patio-restaurant chain nationwide. When Taco Cabana's founding Stehling brothers rejected his advances, McDermot decided to open up his own chain of similarly themed patio-dining Tex-Mex restaurants under the Two Pesos name. Two Pesos Inc. was subsequently acquired byGhulam Mohammed "Bombay" Bombaywala, which at the time was incurring annual losses of $2.7 million, and "Mr. Bombay", as he was commonly known, became the company's chairperson and president. Two Pesos had 27 locations as of 1999. When Taco Cabana entered the Houston market, they sued Two Pesos for stealing their business concepts and "trade dress." After many appeals, the case went to the Supreme Court, which in 1992 ruled inTwo Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc. in favor of Taco Cabana.[1] As a result of the ruling, in 1993,Bombaywala sold Two Pesos, by then profitable, for $30 million toTaco Cabana rather than making the changes required by the judgment.[2][3]
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