Hot Potato

50. Whoops!

After Cynthia had left, I rejoined the chefs and cooks to continue mentoring, problem-solving, tweaking and refining until Marcy came in, pointed to my office and asked to speak with me in private.

Inside, with the door closed, she said, "Suong Pham has applied for the Public Relations position, and she listed you as her reference. What do you know about her?"

"Only from yesterday and the day before. Her knowledge and energy made her the obvious choice to leave in charge of our new marketing team while I handled the details of buying the company." I paused to reflect. "Arnie apparently had her working with Cynthia to promote Plimpton's, so while I was away, she took the initiative to call her, assuming I'd want to continue. Later, while we brainstormed with Cynthia, she had superb input."

"Excellent. All I need to know. Her resumé shows a Marketing Management - Public Relations certificate from BCIT and that she's nearing completion of her Business Management diploma."

"Hire her."

"Absolutely."

"Any other internal applications?"

"Only Dunc, but he's a shoo-in." She laughed. "But seriously, I'm working my way through Cynthia's lists, checking LinkedIn and other online profiles to get a feel and to narrow them down. Oh, and would sometime tomorrow be suitable to have Canadian Linen come in to measure you and the other new staff?"

"Hunh? What?"

"For uniforms."

"Oh, yeah. Like we did at the Four Seasons. Forgot about that. We did our own at Cardinal's – too small for a service." I pointed to my backpack still slung over the back of the chair. "Brought my whites the first day – haven't had a chance to change into them. But, yes, the entire staff will be here tomorrow, so it's ideal timing."

I pointed to the windows. "I need to have curtains installed here, so I can change – the staff lockers are too public for no undies."

"You could use my office; I've an ensuite, so you can refresh while you're there – maybe more. I miss you, G."

"Ummm. Miss you too, Marce."

We gazed into each other's eyes for a long while, then she said. "But we have a business to set in order at the moment. Let's get it rolling first, then consider."

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The next two days were a blur with so many details as we fine-tuned the kitchen and the front. The biggies, Cassandra Gold of the Globe and Mail and Mira Salisbury, the Vancouver Sun, had prominent mentions of Hot Potato in their columns, playing the former Plimpton's card.

Tom Paisley came by to sample plates from our training, and he wrote a glowing preview on his PublicBelly blog. As well, there were many mentions from the smaller players, some seeming to be only to ingratiate themselves to Cynthia for a grand opening invitation and free eats. But Marcy told me they're all positive, so all valuable.

On Cynthia's advice, I invited Min-Jun to Sunday afternoon's staff trials, hosting her at a table in the kitchen. And with her camera clicking so often, I was pleased to finally be in my whites.

Kira and her thirteen foodie cohorts were among the hundred and twelve guests at Sunday evening's first soft opening. As well, there were four minor food bloggers Cynthia had invited.

Monday morning, after I had debriefed the staff and had begun planning the multi-branch soft openings, Marcy arrived in the kitchen with an opened courier packet, and as she handed the contents to me, she said, "We've a problem."

I looked at the sheet of paper, wincing at the convoluted text and double-speak. "Has Dunc seen this?"

"No, he headed out to the sign shop a while ago."

"So, what's it mean?"

"Deciphering the bafflegab, it appears Mr Plimpton's lawyers have filed an injunction to stop us from using the name." She pointed to the long list of ccs at the bottom of the page, "Stop us and all the media who have mentioned Plimpton's."

"But, there's no mention in the sale agreement. There's no prohibition. Besides, we're not saying we're Plimpton's. We're saying we're the restaurants that were formerly known as Plimpton's."

"The law may see it as trading on their reputation."

"True. We need Dunc." I went to my office and picked up my phone, its ringtone and vibration startling me as I thumbed in. I swiped and answered, "Hello."

"Gianna, it's Cynthia. We've some potentially angry media."

"Yeah, we just got a courier notice of an injunction."

"I thought you had said there's no prohibition on mentioning Plimpton's"

"There isn't. Dunc had written the sale/purchase agreement, and he took care to ensure there was no mention. The only prohibition was in the holding company's initial acquisition. The restaurant name had to be changed for the deal to be completed. That's why the Hot Potato name and all the vinyl banners."

"Yeah, this was my understanding. So, what's their snit?"

"Marcy suggested that they might think we're trading on their reputation."

"Hmmm. Need legal advice on this. Meanwhile, I'll advise those with online reviews to edit out any mentions of Plimpton's. Might lose some punch with this – maybe some credibility."

"Dunc's a lawyer – has a master's in corporate law. He'll know what it all means. I was just going to phone him when you called."

"Great, I'll leave you to it, then."

"Hold off a while on contacting the writers. See what Dunc says, first."

"Half an hour only – I've a reputation to maintain."

As soon as I clicked off, I punched Dunc's icon, receiving his message box spiel, and at the prompt, I said, "Call me, Dunc. Urgent legal matter."

I clicked off and stared at my phone, then I sent him a text.

Now, what?

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Points to consider in this chapter:

The attraction is still strong between Gigi and Marcy. What are your thoughts on this?

Do you think the marketing has pushed the boundaries of legality?

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