College Dropout (restaurant)

College Dropout
Restaurant information
EstablishedJune 27, 2021
Owner(s)Mark Elkhouri
Street address482 Albion St, Brunswick West VIC 3055[1]
Websitecollegedropoutburgers.com

College Dropout is a burger chain in Melbourne, Australia.[2][3][4][5]

The restaurant is known, in-part, for having made international headlines after being unsuccessfully sued by the American musician Kanye West for intellectual property infringement.[6][3][7]

The chain is named after West's album The College Dropout, which they did not get his permission or endorsement to use. The restaurant uses the Dropout Bear as a mascot, and has items named for other things in West's career, such as his album and song titles. For a brief period, they sold burgers named after celebrities that dropped out of college as a result of West's lawsuit.

Description

The restaurant debuted on June 27, 2021[8] in Ivanhoe, Victoria.[3] It later opened a location on the CBD campus of RMIT University.[9] It was opened by Mark Elkhouri, also responsible for the Melbourne dessert chain Nuts About Tella.[10]

The burger restaurant is heavily styled based on the music career of Kanye West. Menu items at the restaurant are named for things associated with West, such as songs, albums, or lyrics. Examples included the Graduation which was essentially a classic smashed beef burger, the "Gold Digger", which was a fried chicken burger, and a breakfast burger named the "Good Morning".[2][8]

The aesthetics of the restaurant also borrowed heavily from West's intellectual property. Signage of the Ivanhoe location included images resembling Dropout Bear, West's mascot.[3] None of the restaurant's reliance upon West's intellectual property occurred with his permission or endorsement.[3]

Dispute with Kanye West

In 2022, the restaurant made international headlines after it was sued by Kanye West. Reportedly, the rapper followed the restaurant through its stories on Instagram, which the restaurant owner mistook as West's approval for the restaurant.[11][12][13] Later, West contacted the owner and sued the restaurant.[2] The restaurant changed its logo and the names of its burgers after being contacted by West, but continued to trade under the same name.[3]

The basis of the lawsuit was that Elkhouri had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by falsely associating himself with West and his brand.[Note 1] During the lawsuit, the names of the burgers were renamed to celebrities that had dropped out of college. Examples include the "Zucker burg", and other burgers named for Bill Gates, Brad Pitt, and Steve Jobs.[11][14]

In 2023, the case was dismissed by Justice Shaun McElwaine due to West and his lawyers failing to comply with Australian Federal Court rules of procedure.[3][14][4] The restaurant was represented by Craig Smith SC.[4] On March 4, 2023, the restaurant would celebrate the dismissal by handing out free burgers from 2pm to 3pm.[15]

In April, Elkhouri flew to the US to pursue West for legal damages.[16]

As of 2025, College Dropout has returned to selling items named after West, with items such as the "Gorgeous" and "Famous" burgers (the latter self-described as their take on the Big Mac) being available.[17] Their current logo, like their original branding, is heavily based on West's Dropout Bear character.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 'Personality Rights' do not exist as a form of intellectual property in Australia. Celebrities therefore need to rely upon 'misleading and deceptive conduct' as a basis for protecting their image and likeness

References

  1. ^ Burnie, Ally (30 August 2023). "The Best Burgers in Melbourne Locals Swear By (2025)". Man of Many. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Juanola, Erin Pearson, Marta Pascual (24 October 2022). "Rapper Ye takes Melbourne restaurant College Dropout Burgers to Federal Court". The Age. Retrieved 27 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Thompson, Jesse (3 March 2023). "Rapper Ye's lawsuit against Melbourne burger shop thrown out following 'very unsatisfactory' conduct". ABC News. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Estcourt, David (10 February 2023). "'Done nothing': Ye's burger case goes cold after no response from rapper". The Age. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ Fry, Courtney (30 June 2022). "Kanye West Sent A Melb Burger Joint A Cease & Desist For Using His Albums To Sell Grub". PEDESTRIAN.TV. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Alex (1 July 2022). "Kanye West reportedly demands Melbourne burger restaurant to change logo and burger names". NME. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Kanye West burger case thrown out of Melbourne court after US rapper's lawyers' no-show". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 3 March 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Nuts About Tella, The Famous Nutella Dessert Shop Is Dropping A New Kanye West Inspired Burger Joint". www.theurbanlist.com. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. ^ honeypenguin (13 May 2019). "The College Dropout". The Penguin Eats. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  10. ^ Elmas, Matthew (5 November 2018). "Extravagant dessert retailer Nuts About Tella collapses amid ongoing pain for food operators". SmartCompany. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b Graham, Jackson (30 June 2022). "Not rapt: Kanye West orders Melbourne fan to change store logo, burger names". The Age. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  12. ^ Andriyashchuk, Yuriy (31 December 2021). "Australian Restaurant Is Making Kanye 'College Dropout' Burgers". The Blast. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ^ Staxxssss (2 July 2022). "Australian Burger Joint Forced To Rebrand After Kanye West Sent Them A Cease And Desist Letter For Naming The Restaurant "College Dropout Burgers"". Baller Alert. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Major development in Kanye West's lawsuit against Aussie burger shop". 7NEWS. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  15. ^ Martin, Kaya (3 May 2023). "College Dropout Burgers celebrates with free food after Kanye lawsuit is dropped". beat.com.au. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Fresh twist after Kanye West's lawsuit against Aussie burger shop". 7NEWS. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  17. ^ "COLLEGE DROPOUT". www.collegedropoutburgers.com. Retrieved 22 June 2025.

37°46′10″S 145°02′29″E / 37.7694°S 145.0413°E / -37.7694; 145.0413

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.