Chaiiwala seeking legal action against ‘rip-off’ Chaiiwale

An established Indian restaurant brand has vowed to “come down hard” on a newly launched eatery it has accused of being a “rip-off”.

With only the letter ‘e’ separating the brand names of Chaiiwala and Chaiiwale, the former says it has already begun seeking legal action against Chaiiwale in Middlesbrough.

Having launched on Borough Road yesterday morning, Chaiiwale has also gone with a black-and-white colour scheme, a teapot within a white ring for a logo, and a font that looks similar to that of Chaiiwala.

It’s disheartening for us when people rip-off the brand – Chaiiwala co-owner

“It’s disheartening for us when people rip-off the brand. Some people try and vary slightly, but still copy majority of the name and menu.

“We come down hard on these businesses legally because we have worked very hard to build the brand through Allah’s grace. But it’s disappointing for us having to keep addressing these issues.

“We pray that Allah gives barakah to everyone. But we ask that they stay in their own lane rather than trying to rip-off the goodwill we have built,” Chaiiwala’s co-owner told FtLion.

Although Chaiiwale’s manager Haroon said he could not comment in the absence of the owner, who is currently in Pakistan, he did confirm that an email on the matter had been received from Chaiiwala.

Since launching over four years ago, Chaiiwala boasts 27 stores across the UK including London, Birmingham, Bolton, Blackburn, Leicester, Cardiff and Bradford.

Its popular Karak Tea, which is made “using the same family secret recipe” from “nine decades ago”, was voted Readers’ Choice: Best Beverage of the Year in last year’s FtLion Awards.