BILLINGS — A downtown Billings kitchen and cookware shop has a new name after a trademark dispute pushed its owner to rebrand.
The store, which opened in 2020 as Zest Kitchen and Cookware, is now called Popover. Owner Marguerite Jodry said the change came after a legal challenge forced her to rethink the business's identity — and she chose to see it as an opportunity rather than a setback.
Watch Marguerite Jodry talk about the change:
After six years in business, the path forward shifted.
"Last year, we faced a little bit of an intellectual property challenge," Jodry said.
The challenge was a trademark dispute. Jodry said she initially tried to work out an agreement with the other company, which had a similar name.
"We did get into some discussions with that company about the possibility of having a cooperative use agreement," Jodry said. "We did receive a cease and desist letter, which, as an inexperienced business owner myself, that was a pretty frightening moment."
Rather than pursue a legal fight, Jodry leaned into the process of starting fresh.
"It ended up becoming a really exciting, generative process where we got to think about who we are and who we want to be in the future," Jodry said.
The Downtown Billings Association helped spread the word about the rebrand.
"We make sure we share it as far as we can with, we do email blasts and website news updates. We have social media posts and making sure the website downtownbillings.com is as up to date as possible," said Lindsay Richardson, communications director with the DBA.
Richardson said the association worked closely with the store on the transition.
"(They) reached out and shared that they were rebranding and, we as a team, kind of collected made a timeline and a plan to share for us as an organization to share their news as well as it going with their timeline on their celebration," Richardson said.
Richardson added that rebrands are not unusual for businesses.
"I think rebranding as a whole is done every five to 10 years," Richardson said.
For Jodry, the new name carries meaning beyond a legal fix.
"Popover is a word that we like because not only is it this delightful little kitchen treat, it also embodies this kind of spirit of casual hospitality that we aim for here at the store," Jodry said.
She said she has big plans for what comes next.
"What I'm really excited for is the way that this brand is going to carry us into the future. Hopefully, someday, that means expanding to other locations," Jodry said.
