U District dive bar sues the Seattle hockey team over training facility bar with same name

What's in a name? For one of Seattle's few remaining dive bars, there's a whole legacy — and life's savings — at stake.

The U-District's Kraken Bar & Lounge filed a lawsuit this week against the Seattle Hockey Partners (SHP), the owners of the National Hockey League's newest franchise, the Kraken.

The $3.5 million lawsuit, filed in the King County Superior Court on Thursday, alleges trademark infringement by the SHP following the announcement that the company would open a restaurant, similarly named the Kraken Bar & Grill, at their Northgate training facility later this year.

Prior to being named The Kraken Bar & Lounge, the space was known as Galway Arms, an Irish-themed pub that also hosted live music. That bar closed in 2011 and the space was purchased by husband and wife Katherine and Daniel Colley and William Knupp. Daniel Colley and Knupp had worked at the Galway Arms, and Katherine and Daniel had also met at the bar.

Following the change in owner and name, the bar then took on a nautical, pirate theme, with the mythical Kraken being used on signage, advertising and merchandise. Along with its pirate theme, the space hosted notable punk and metal acts throughout the years, including many local bands.

 "The Kraken Bar remains one of the few dive bars left in the neighborhood and region," reads the lawsuit. "Its patrons are loyal. Many cannot stand the thought of losing The Kraken Bar to a corporate-sponsored bar, devoid of personality and consumed by an investor mandate to extract premium prices."

The new bar and grill being built by the NHL at their Northgate training facility will have experienced restaurateur Mick McHugh at the helm. McHugh is not new to the Seattle sports bar scene: he opened F.X. McRory's Steak Chop and Oyster House near the Kingdome in 1977.

One of the first on the West Coast to serve Guinness on draught, the bar closed in 2017 after the owners of the historic Pioneer Square building planned a seismic retrofit, and McHugh said he intended to reopen at a new location. While the new hockey bar overlooking the practice rinks will not be F.X. McRory's, McHugh has emphasized that it will have the same "spirit" of the former bar.

"It will be a joyous place. Seattle fans know we are lucky to have our sports teams," McHugh said. "From watching practices to just being in the home of the Kraken, this is going to be a great place for everyone to gather and share their love for the city and its teams."

However, the U-District bar's lawsuit notes that the similar name of the franchise and the planned bar — which will sit just three miles north of the existing bar — has caused confusion among its patrons, with some fans showing up in hockey attire. The owners claim that the franchise name is now harming its brand.

"That The Kraken Bar would or should become a hockey bar or a sports bar of any kind was an anathema to The Kraken Bar and its regular patrons," the lawsuit reads. "The Kraken Bar's regular patrons frequented the bar precisely because it was a dive bar, associated with affordable food and drinks as well as cutting edge live music performances by well-known punk and metal bands."

The Kraken responded to the Seattle P-I's request for a statement with Seattle Kraken Executive Vice President and General Counsel Lance Lopes stating that the company has not been served with any legal documentation and that it will not comment on potential litigation.