Back To The Foodture reopening on Saturday with a new name
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Last month, a battle with a big Hollywood studio ended with the closure of a local restaurant.
But it appears fate has flipped for that restaurant.
What's ahead for the restaurant once known as Back to the Foodture?
As it turns out, fans of the famed restaurant will be able to enjoy some of their favorite menu items once again, all under the same ownership but a different name.
Business owners Ed and Angel Magwood have officially left their former restaurant, Back to the Foodture, in the past.
"We had to take down any and every sign that had back to the Foodture on it. Anything that had the logo, the Back to the Foodture logo," Ed Magwood said.
After losing a fight with Universal, the studio behind the iconic film the restaurant drew inspiration from, the two were forced to withdraw their trademark, scrap their business name, and ultimately, close their locations downtown and on the south side.
They were defeated. And uncertain about their future.
"I was saying let's focus on the other businesses. And this one, he would not. I'd be making breakfast, he'd be like, 'Let's change the name,' No Ed, make lunch, 'Let's change the name,'" Angel Magwood said, recounting a conversation with Ed.
Eventually, the couple agreed to make a comeback under a new restaurant name called The Foodture.
A combination of "food" and "culture" at their previous location downtown.
An expensive relaunch, though, at about $100,000.
"Background stuff, bank accounts, POS systems, LLCs, trademarks, we had to start a brand new business all over again."
A new name, new branding, and a new menu.
They say their previous menu featured items named after some of their favorite pop culture icons.
But this time, they're not risking any more smoke in their kitchen.
"This time around, we tried to stay away from using celebrity names like Snoop Dogg and Bow Wow; we don't want to get into this type of situation again."
The owners of The Foodture tell KDKA they have cleared the name with Universal and are ready to get back to serving the community that stood by them.
"The love, the support, it just blew my mind. I want to say thank you to anyone who ever came to the restaurant, shared a post, liked a post."