Former Firebird Restaurant in Carmichael rebrands after pressure from East Coast chain

A Carmichael restaurant — which recently took “Russian” out of its name after the nation invaded Ukraine — has changed its brand again to avoid legal troubles from an East Coast chain with a similar name.

The former Firebird Restaurant closed after it received a letter from Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, claiming trademark infringement, the owner told The Bee.

“I was really disappointed,” owner Alexandru Sirbu said. “We were trying to do something good, and this restaurant has been here for around 12 years, and no one has said anything about that until now.”

The East European Restaurant plans to reopen soon under the name “Noroc,” which means luck in Romanian.

The establishment, formerly known as Firebird Russian Restaurant, rebranded in March, dropping “Russian” after the country invaded Ukraine. It also organized a fundraiser to support Ukrainian refugees, which ended up raising more than $1,600.

On March 22, a lawyer from Firebirds Wood Fired Grill contacted Firebird about its name, shortly after a local TV news segment aired on the restaurant’s upcoming fundraiser, Sirbu said. In the email shared with The Bee, Firebirds International LLC cited it owned the federally registered trademark for “Firebird” and “Firebirds” and attached the restaurant’s flyer advertising the fundraiser.

The national chain, which operates more than 40 restaurants mostly on the East Coast, wrote that the local restaurant would have to immediately refrain from using the name “Firebird” or otherwise take legal action. The chain later negotiated with Firebird and gave it four months to change its brand, Sirbu said.

“We demand that you immediately cease and desist in any further use of FIREBIRD and FIREBRD (or any variation thereof) in association with your restaurant as well as with the marketing, sale, distribution or identification of your food products or services online or otherwise,” Nicole Tharrington, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill general counsel, wrote in the email.

Tharrington and other Firebirds Wood Fired Grill representatives did not return messages left by The Bee. .

“We decided not to fight them because they’re big,” Sirbu said. “We decided to just change the name so it would be more easy for us.”

The East Coast chain did not file a suit in Sacramento County.

Sirbu started to revise the menu and remodel his restaurant soon after the email. He plans to open the restaurant Tuesday under its new name.

“I think me and my family are lucky because of what has happened ... I guess this was how it was supposed to be,” Sirbu said. “We see this in a positive way. I am trying to do good things and people punish you, but we decided this is our luck.”

Sirbu, who is a Moldovan native, also said he wanted to give his restaurant this name to better reflect his heritage and his employees, many of who came from the small country that borders Ukraine. He inherited the restaurant in 2018.

The restaurant, at 4715 Manzanita Ave., will continue to focus on Eastern European cuisine, with a greater focus on Moldovan dishes.

This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 10:59 AM.