![]() “She didn’t charge them money, but she did insist on approving each individual ad, poster and television commercial,” Rosen reported. The ad also included the phrase “Get yours, Hon.”Īccording to the Sun article, MTA’s advertising agency obtained clearance from Whiting in order to use the word. 8, 2010, story by Larry Perl in Baltimore Messenger mentioning that Whiting owned trademarks for the word “Hon.” The story gained traction when reported in more depth the following day by Jill Rosen in the Baltimore Sun.Īccording to Rosen, the Maryland Transit Administration was launching an advertising campaign for its Charm Card rider pass that featured the image of Charlene Osborne, a former Baltimore’s Best Hon winner. In one of her last public appearances before resigning in disgrace after a conviction on corruption charges, then-Mayor Shelia Dixon was present for the unveiling of a new flamingo on Nov. Whiting’s popularity and public support probably peaked in the fall of 2009, when large numbers of residents rallied to her side in a dispute with the City of Baltimore over the giant flamingo in front of Café Hon. A high point of Honfest is the Baltimore’s Best Hon contest, in which costumed women Hon it up to extremes - leopard prints, feather boas, cats-eye glasses and very big hair. She is perhaps best known as the founder and host of Honfest, which began modestly in 1994 and has grown into a three-day event that attracts tens of thousands of people to The Avenue every year. Whiting also operates the Hon Bar next door to Café Hon, and in 2010 opened the HONTown retail gift shop across the street on the corner of 36th and Roland Avenue. The 30-foot pink flamingo in front of Café Hon is another nod to Waters, whose films include Pink Flamingos. Photo: sashafatcat via FlickrĬafé Hon is inspired by the kitcshy sensibilities of John Waters’ films, particularly the garish big-haired Hon caricature exemplified by Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Former caterer and business school graduate Denise Whiting opened Café Hon in 1992, and since then has substantially grown her business and presence in Baltimore. A Honderful LifeĬafé Hon is a restaurant located in Hampden, a working class mid-town neighborhood centered around 36th Street, known as The Avenue. This is how I risked my job, my marriage, and a potentially catastrophic lawsuit to play a small but pivotal role to help Baltimoreans liberate a word. The episode was followed closely by lawyers and linguists, made news around the world, and is discussed in business schools as a case study in how one unassuming word can drive a thriving enterprise to the brink of ruin.Īnd I had a front-row seat through the whole thing. It’s a strange chapter not just in the history of Baltimore, but apparently entirely without precedent. But that’s what happened.Īnd the conflict resolved with an unlikely make-a-wish ending that is only possible on contrived TV reality shows. Usually, intellectual property law isn’t the sort of thing that gets a mob riled up. More precisely, the dispute was about one person’s claim of ownership of the word. This time, the provocation was a word: Hon. The first blood spilled in the Civil War was during the Pratt Street Riot of 1861, and more than 100 people were killed during the B&O railroad strike and riot in 1877, which grew into America’s first national labor strike. John Davidge and his colleagues received similar treatment when they began teaching anatomy with human cadavers in 1807 a mob broke through the door of their lecture hall on Liberty Street, stole the cadaver and dragged it down the road. He was accosted by an unruly gang that pelted him with rocks. ![]() According to accounts, in 1772 a seafaring visitor from India stepped off the dock in Baltimore with an umbrella - a contraption never before seen in the New World. There were protests and boycotts, confrontations, acts of vandalism, venomous flame wars waged in online forums, and at least one restraining order.īaltimoreans are notoriously easy to provoke into mob violence. The Year of Living Hon-gerouslyįor most of 2011, Baltimore was embroiled in a very unusual controversy.Ī whole community, it seemed, turned against one person. He also revamped Café Hon with a new menu. Editor’s Note: Baltimore Post-Examineris proud to republish with permission an article that appeared on the website Welcome to Baltimore, Hon! Here’s the Café Hon back story behind Baltimore’s fight to liberate the word “Hon.” Since this story was first published, chef Gordon Ramsay of Kitchen Nightmares returned to Café Hon. During his first visit he helped persuade Denise Whiting along with a sea of protesters to drop the Café Hon trademark attempt.
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