In November 2010, Whiting trademarked the term "hon" for use on napkins, buttons, hats and other promotional material to promote Cafe Hon. The trademark, as stated by Whiting, doesn't prevent anyone from saying "hon"[12] or using it in general conversation.[12] The trademark issue was criticized by Dan Rodricks, columnist for The Baltimore Sun: "You can't own something that doesn't belong to you.... 'Hon' isn't unique to Denise Whiting, no matter how special she wants us to believe she is."[13] Because of Whiting's trademark many citizens of Baltimore were outraged and took to the streets in protest on December 19, 2010, to express their anger.[14]
On November 7, 2011, during the taping for Kitchen Nightmares, Whiting held a press conference with Gordon Ramsay present where she announced that she would be relinquishing the "Hon" trademark. Ramsay stated that, with Cafe Hon, "There was a level of hatred that was almost untouchable. I've never known a restaurant to have such a huge issue." The Cafe Hon episode of Kitchen Nightmares has been briefly described in a Baltimore Sun article, stating that while a typical episode features "slovenly kitchens and indolent staffs'" the Cafe Hon episode dealt with a "unique" public relations issue, "one woman vs. a city."[1] Whiting stated that the controversy over trademarking the word "Hon" had a huge toll on her business and her own health, she estimated that since it was first revealed in December 2010 that "Hon" was trademarked to her, she estimated a "20 to 25 percent drop off" in sales and that she needed to sell her IRAs just to meet payroll.[15] Whiting filed to have the trademark canceled and announced it on Facebook on November 11, 2011.[16]
Lol wow, its like the exact same thing, except she was at least located in the city. Hope this as the same outcome. ---