Boom Battle Bar serves Colchester bar with cease and desist

Karl Zabroski has been working to open an activity-led bar with axe throwing, table tennis and shuffleboard in the former Argos shop in Long Wyre Street.

The 38-year-old decided to name it Allstars Battle Bar but has now been left with no choice but to come up with a new name after being hit with a cease and desist letter.

Boom Battle Bar, which offers similar sporting activities in a bar environment, served the letter to Mr Zabroski amid concerns it would “harm” its brand.

Unfazed - Karl Zabroski has changed his bar's name (Image: Karl Zabroski)

Coming soon - works continue on No Name Bar and Games (Image: Karl Zabroski)

The manager has now hit back by renaming the bar, set to open this weekend, No Name Bar and Games.

“A name is just something to put on a sign above the door. We’re having a laugh with it and poking a bit of fun at ourselves,” said Mr Zabroski.

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“I thought the term battle bar was descriptive for what a venue offers rather than a brand name.”

The nearest Boom Battle Bars to Colchester are in Ipswich and Chelmsford, but plans have been revealed this month to open one in the city’s former Debenhams.

Work in progress - a behind the scenes picture of the upcoming venue (Image: Karl Zabroski)

Vacant - the new bar is set to breathe a new lease of life into the vacant Argos store (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Zabroski insisted his venue will offer a completely different experience to the rival firm.

He added: “We are in belief that it will be our service and customer experience that will set us apart, with pricing structures to make it more available to everyone rather than just larger groups.

“We won't be relying on just a name to attract the people of Colchester.”

A Boom Battle Bar spokeswoman said: “The importance we place on protecting our team’s brilliant ideas from being copied by others meant that we recently had no option but to issue the party concerned with a pre-action cease and desist letter.

“Trademark legislation thankfully exists for exactly these kinds of situations where people’s hard work, investment and creativity need to be protected from those who may want to cause confusion with customers and leverage our reputation for their gain.

“Whilst the party concerned has now formally acknowledged they were infringing our registrations, we are of course keeping a close eye on developments to ensure our brand isn’t harmed further.”

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