'The ghosts are not happy': 2 Fall River businesses clash over use of Lizzie Borden name

Audrey Cooney, The Herald News
·3 min read
2

FALL RIVER — A new, Lizzie Borden-themed coffee shop opened earlier this month a stone’s throw from the location of the famous murders. Now, the two businesses’ owners are clashing over whether the new business oversteps by using Borden’s name.

“It’s important that if you open up next to a big landmark, that you be a good neighbor and you respect their trademarks and you don’t use a name that’s very similar to theirs,” said Lance Zaal, owner of the company that operates the Lizzie Borden House.

The house, a green Victorian on Second Street in Fall River, is where Lizzie Borden is said to have murdered her father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, with an ax in 1892. Borden was acquitted in the killings but the house, which is now a bed and breakfast, has become a popular site for fans of history and the paranormal.

Miss Lizzie's coffee shop recently opened near the Lizzie Borden house in Fall River.
Miss Lizzie's coffee shop recently opened near the Lizzie Borden house in Fall River.

Did Lizzie Borden use an alias? 5 facts you never knew about Fall River's infamous murders

Zaal’s company US Ghost Adventures, which operates ghost tours in dozens of cities across the U.S., bought the house in 2021.

Miss Lizzie’s Coffee opened two weeks ago, on the anniversary of the Borden murders. The Lizzie-themed coffee shop features bloody axes in the decor and other nods to the slayings, like a "Lizspresso" menu item. Owner Joe Pereira bills it as "the most haunted coffee shop in the world."

Now, Zaal says the coffee shop violates his intellectual property.

“They’re clearly drawing an association with Lizzie Borden and being right next to the house,” he said. “If I went down to Orlando or Anaheim and opened a place that was ‘Mr. Mickey’s Milkshakes,’ that would be a problem.”

Preserving American history: The Lizzie Borden house has undergone restorations and upgrades. Here's what's new.

He said he plans to send a letter to Pereira, but added that he is currently not suing the other business. He declined to comment further on any potential legal action.

The Lizzie Borden House currently holds a trademark for the name “Lizzie Borden” when used for hotel and restaurant services, although not for just “Lizzie.” They also hold trademarks for “Lizzie Borden Museum” and for Lizzie Borden magnets, jewelry, golf balls, key chains, cups, mugs and hats.

Olivia Pereira, daughter of owner Joe Pereira, serves a customer at the new Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop in Fall River.
Olivia Pereira, daughter of owner Joe Pereira, serves a customer at the new Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop in Fall River.

Pereira said he has yet to hear from Zaal except through media reports about the conflict.

“The people who work there are very nice. They come here and they get coffee,” he said of the Lizzie Borden House.

Pereira said it’s typical for businesses to spring up near important historical sites that capitalize on people’s interest.

“In my opinion, she’s a historical figure,” he said.

Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop recently opened at 242 Second St. in Fall River.
Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop recently opened at 242 Second St. in Fall River.

Pereira said he has one gripe about the nearby Lizzie Borden House: that they capitalize on other untimely deaths related to the Borden family. Nearly 50 years before Andrew and Abby were murdered, a Borden cousin, Eliza Borden, killed her two young children on the Borden’s large property before dying by suicide. Those deaths actually happened in the space that’s now the coffee shop, Pereira said, not the same house where Andrew and Abby died.

“He’s stealing ghosts,” he said. “And quite frankly, the ghosts are not happy.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Lizzie Borden House owner: coffee shop violates intellectual property