Behold The Taylor’s Refresher!
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this is one magnificent looking burger! If you’ve never experienced the original “Taylors Refresher” in Napa Valley, you are missing out!
Taylors Refresher is a roadside hamburger stand in the Napa Valley, just south of St. Helena…it has a fantastic menu of burgers, sandwiches, fries, garlic fries, onion rings, salads – and they sell beer and wine as well!
As the sign says, they opened in 1949 and are an iconic dining destination in St. Helena still today…here is why:
Lining Up For Taylors!
Taylors Refresher has been voted one of the best burgers in America – and, as you are about to see, word has gotten out – they are ALWAYS packed:
Now, you may notice something about the sign on this picture, which I took while waiting in the massive line: it DOESN’T SAY Taylor’s Refresher…and therein lies the story of Napa Valley’s epic burger war:
Taylors V. Gotts – A Mondo Burger Battle!
I have eaten at Taylor’s for twenty years, and every meal is terrific. But I wondered why the wooden sign said Taylor’s and the top of the building now said “Gott’s”. And here is what I found.
On March 26 2010, this story was published in the Napa Valley Register by Jennifer Huffman, Register Business Writer:
“Taylor’s family furious over eatery’s new name”
As she reported:
“A name change at the Taylor’s Automatic Refresher eateries has created a bit of legal wrangling between the former owners and the current operators.
What seemed like a simple name change for a popular local burger joint has become a battle between the founder’s family and the two brothers who transformed the sleepy Upvalley roadside stand into a modern-day culinary hit with three locations. “
The story went on:
“The family that started Taylor’s Refresher restaurant in St. Helena 60 years ago and owns the rights to the name expressed “outrage” at current owners Joel and Duncan Gott for changing the name of the business.”
This led to a burger battle to be sure…the story goes on:
“Jean Taylor Nicholson, 83, and Virginia Taylor Toogood, 80, the daughters of Taylor’s Refresher founder Lloyd “Popsy” Taylor, said the name change wipes out the good name of their father’s original drive-in and its place in St. Helena history.
“We are shocked and angered by this announcement and will fight to protect our family name and reputation,” Virginia Toogood said in a prepared statement. “Taylor’s Refresher has a long and cherished history in St. Helena that will be irreparably damaged by this. This is like changing the name of the Martini Winery, the French Laundry or any other historic business in our community without consent. It’s not right. We own the property and the name, not the Gotts.”
As the battle continued to play out, a new name emerged. The story notes:
“The Gotts announced this week they are changing the name of the restaurants to Gott’s Roadside Tray Gourmet. They cited legal reasons, a reference to a four-year-old trademark infringement case that started after the Gotts expanded the brand. In a prepared statement issued Friday, Joel Gott wrote that the brothers decided to change the name of the restaurants “to avoid any further controversy.”
The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in 2008 that the sisters are the legal owners of the trade name and mark “Taylor’s Refresher,” and that the Gotts are using the name in St. Helena under a license from the sisters. The Gotts’ appeal of the ruling is pending in San Francisco federal court.
“In the meantime we are moving forward,” Joel Gott wrote in an e-mail.
“At some point soon, we would like to expand to other locations, and while this is being settled by the lawyers, we have decided make the change,” Gott wrote.
In 1999, the sisters leased Taylor’s Refresher to the Gotts, who renovated it before reopening as both Taylor’s Refresher and Taylor’s Automatic Refresher.
An Expanded Battle…
The battle intensified when Gott’s began to expand. The reporting has this”
“A press release from the Taylor sisters said Nicholson and Toogood were “surprised and embarrassed” to learn that the Gotts were opening a new Taylor’s Automatic Refresher at the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco. Three years later, the Gotts opened a third Taylor’s Automatic Refresher in the Oxbow Public Market in Napa.
“While Nicholson and Toogood receive percentage-based lease payments from the original St. Helena restaurant, they have received nothing from the Gotts for the use of the name in San Francisco or Napa. The sisters want to protect their trademark, name and value of the St. Helena restaurant for their families and heirs,” the release said.”
So there you have it – a big burger battle that got in the way of what is a terrific burger…let me show you:
How about their bacon cheeseburger – stuffed full of meat, bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion and a special sauce…and of course, you MUST have the garlic fries…or wait, how about onion rings?
Yes, they are as good and fresh as they look – but you can also have sweet potato fries, or even the chili cheese fries….
Yes, there are tough decisions to make, so you need to go with a group of people and get them all:
Now, back to the cheeseburgers…there are many variable – you can add onion rings to the burger, or double patties, or bacon bacon and more bacon…
Now, you can also get turkey burgers and veggie burgers AND ahi burgers, plus chicken sandwiches and more…and they all show up looking as good as this:
Taylors Lives!
One nod to the past: when you go to the original Taylors Refresher location, you will still see the original sign out front, reminding you of the past…
Everything else says Gotts – and there are indeed Gotts now in Napa at the Ox Bow market, and another in the Ferry Building in San Francisco as well…they make great food, so it was an unfortunate legal battle that takes away from what is legendary food…
So whether it’s a “Gotts” or a “Taylors Refresher”, one thing remains the same: it IS one of the best burgers in America…
Napa Valley has a number of great burger restaurants, but none more unique that this one:
Want a “Squeeze With Cheese?” This very unique cooking method creates an amazing burger – see how they do it here!
I love a great burger, especially when there is a unique method of preparation, like this one I found in Hackensack New Jersey:
This is the White Manna Burger – and the secret is this: on a flat-top grill they SLOOOOOOWLY cook the meat – covered with raw sliced onion!
When they flip them, the onions are caramelized underneath – take a look:
You can see more of this classic burger stand and their unique cooking method by click on my story here:
And here are more great cheeseburger recipes – enjoy!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Burgers, Cheeseburgers, Eat This!, Fast Food, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Sliders, Travel, Uncategorized, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Looks like a good burger!
looks delish and interesting battle of the names!
Changing a name isn’t always a good idea but it sounds like these sisters are just obstructive.