The granddaughter of the man who ran Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dogs at the State Fair of Texas for decades quietly opened a fried-food restaurant in Dallas on Tuesday.
Just don’t go looking for the name. Jace Fletcher Christensen’s new restaurant doesn’t have a permanent one yet. Temporarily, the restaurant near Interstate 35E and Loop 12 in Dallas is being called Corndog With No Name while co-owner Christensen and her mom Victoria Fletcher wait out the verdict in a family lawsuit over a trademark dispute.
“I agreed to keep the restaurant closed for 10 days, and 3 1/2 months later, there was still no ruling,” Christensen says.
Originally, the mother-daughter duo intended to call their new restaurant Fletch, which Christensen says is her nickname. “That’s my name,” she says.
But the lawsuit alleges that using part of the famous family name outside of the original State Fair business would create “confusion among consumers.” Christensen has been in a dispute with her family members since 2017, after Christensen’s grandfather Skip Fletcher died. Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dogs is currently owned by the late Skip Fletcher’s wife, GiGi Fletcher.
Christensen asked a judge for permission to open the no-name restaurant on Jan. 13 and was granted a preliminary injunction. The judge did not dismiss the case, which means the complicated family feud continues. Court documents show that the court case could go on until at least November 2020.
“These things can get dragged out for years,” Christensen says. She moved forward anyhow.
On Corndog With No Name’s opening day, Jan. 14, Christensen says more than 50 people showed up for lunch to sample the company’s corn dogs and funnel cakes.
Christensen’s crew covered up references to the restaurant’s original name and put up a sign that says: “We are in no way affiliated with Fletcher’s Corny Dogs at the State Fair of Texas.” It’s a song Christensen has been singing since the genesis of the new business venture. By early 2019, the mother-daughter duo were frying corn dogs and selling funnel cakes at sporting events all over the state and in Colorado. Just not at the State Fair of Texas — though the concessions company has contracted to serve corn dogs at Dos Equis Pavilion and the Cotton Bowl, both in Fair Park.
Christensen says she doesn’t use the secret family recipes from Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dogs. Still, the lawsuit alleges the differences between the original corny dog company and Christensen’s new corn dog brand would be difficult for consumers to decipher.
“I’m not trying to be Fletcher’s from the fair," Christensen has told The Dallas Morning News more than once.
“I want to elevate fried food,” she says.
Corndog With No Name’s menu is anchored by 11 “artisanal corn battered franks.” Dipping sauces include spicy Dijon, house ranch, sriracha ketchup and more. (There’s no plain yellow mustard on this menu, as is the traditional way to eat a Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dog.)
Corndog With No Name also sells salads and operates a funnel cake bar, where customers order fried desserts and can choose a la carte toppings like salted caramel, strawberry compote, marshmallows, crushed peanuts, bacon and more.
Customers who visit the restaurant can vote on a name on Instagram. Some of the new suggested options are Fare Play, Fetch, and Fluck Fetcher’s.
Christensen already has her eye on a second location, she says, though a lease has not been signed.
Corndog With No Name is open now at 10220 Technology Blvd. E., Dallas. Starting Jan. 16, 2020, hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.
Story updated at 3:15 p.m. Jan. 15, 2020 with photos of the new restaurant.
