A Cease and Desist Before the Doors Even Open
Lance and Anjalie Wassink had a plan. They were going to open Legacy Winery & Spirits inside Terra Station, a $32.5 million mixed-use development on School Avenue in Hudsonville, Michigan, and give their community something it had never seen before. A tasting room. A working distillery. And a bourbon experience straight out of Bardstown, Kentucky. Then a letter arrived.
A cease and desist from one of the largest bourbon producers in the world landed on their doorstep before the tasting room had even served its first glass. The issue? The word “Legacy” paired with “whiskey” on a front label. Apparently, that combination belongs to someone else — someone with deep pockets and a legal team to back it up.
“Apparently, they trademarked the name ‘Legacy’ with the word whiskey. You can’t have both on a front label,” Anjalie Wassink said…