America
two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese
people will sue over just about anything; it's a sport here
people have a defiant need to assert independence (from medical advice?)
Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona
founded in 2005
Jon Basso (founder) got the idea while writing a marketing thesis about fitness training studios
he was inspired by stories about his clients cheating on their diets
high-calorie food products
very extensive media coverage, Travel Channel, Food Network
often featured on TV
is suing Heart Stoppers Sports Grill
"Taste Worth Dying For!"
Menu offerings: single, double, triple, quadruple pattied "bypass burgers" and "flatliner fries"
serving "nutritional pornography": food "so bad for you it's shocking"
quadruple has up to 2 pound of beef or approximately 8000 calories
"Flatliner Fries" (cooked in pure lard)
unfiltered cigarettes, beer and liquor
soft drinks: Jolt cola and Mexican Coke made with real sugar
Robert Kain, lawyer for the Heart Attack Grill to South Florida Sun Sentinel: "Heart Attack Grill is the originator of the medically themed hamburger grill and restaurant. … It sells high-calorie food products and we have had very extensive media coverage, including numerous shows on the Travel Channel and the Food Network. In my mind, we are just as well known as McDonald’s.” (wow his mind is in a different reality than mine)
http://www.heartattackgrill.com/
notice how the cartoon men in the ad are muscular, buff, not fat at all
and the nurses are small-waisted
men who are overweight may rationalize their high BMI by convincing themselves it's all muscle
one can have a very high BMI without being fat
Heart Stoppers Sports Grill in Delray Beach, Florida
opened in December
restaurant seems more like an actual medical facility
owners of Heart Stoppers inquired about a Heart Attack franchise before opening
run by a former paramedic
more medical slant in restaurant
chili chest pain fries at tables that look like wheelchairs
salt and pepper in prescription bottles
"Consumption of our food will definitely lead to obesity" in menu
wrist tag says what you ordered
a "doctor" examines the "patients" with a stethoscope
did NOT take the trademarked "quadruple bypass" burger line idea
decorated with defibrillators, dialysis machines and other medical equipment
has tables that resemble wheelchairs
Similarities
waitresses at both are dressed as sexy nurses and both offer free food to patrons over 350 pounds
publicity is good, maybe lawsuit is for the attention and both parties are into it?
customers over 350 lb (160 kg) who weigh in before each burger eat for free
no deals on beverages or to-go orders
signs with EKG heart monitors on them
SOURCES
http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/feuding_restaurants_want_to_give_you_a_heart_attack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Attack_Grill
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/02/04/heart-attack-grill-sues-heart-stoppers-sports-grill/
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/02/04/the-law-blogs-heartstopping-lawsuit-of-the-day/
http://www.heartattackgrill.com/