Tale of 2 Rabbit Hashes: Northside brewery reconsiders name after backlash

A brewery in Cincinnati is changing its name before its doors even open after a social media feud boiled over.

When Paul Kemp and his father decided to switch from home brewing to opening a true brick and mortar shop, they chose Cincinnati as the location because the environment is more welcoming, Kemp said. When they chose a name, they picked Rabbit Hash, as an homage to the small Boone County, Kentucky town.

Rabbit Hash Brewery filed as a limited liability corporation in April 2015. In December 2015 it applied for the trademark for Rabbit Hash Brewery and its logo.

The rub? The brewers never talked to the Rabbit Hash Historical Society.

The Kemps, who live near Hebron, just miles from Rabbit Hash and are business owners in Burlington, never guessed what would happen when Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood residents got wind of the "misappropriated" brewery name.

Two months after the brewery applied for the trademark, the 185-year-old Rabbit Hash General Store burned down in an electrical fire.

The community surrounding Rabbit Hash reeled from the loss, then went to work to raise money and rebuild. It's been a year since the tragedy, and the store is set to reopen in April.

But over the course of 2016, the founders of the Rabbit Hash Brewery did not reach out to the Historical Society to share their plans.

After the fire: The Rabbit Hash General Store rises again

On Feb. 18, one of the members of the Historical Society put a statement on Facebook.

"I want to get the word out that there is a new brewery in Cincinnati calling itself Rabbit Hash Brewery. These people are in NO WAY associated with the town Rabbit Hash and never discussed using the Rabbit Hash name with the owners of town," it said.

Bobbi Kayser, a member of the historical society and Rabbit Hash resident, said she felt it didn't quite seem right the Rabbit Hash name would be used without contacting the group.

She had spoken to the family briefly in early February but the talks went nowhere. The Historic Society decided they wanted no affiliation with the brewery that would share its name.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Kayser said. 

The Rabbit Hash Historical Society owns the buildings in the small historic district, but because Rabbit Hash is a designated voting district, the name cannot be trademarked.

Trouble a-brewin' in Northside

Madeleine Mitchell lives in Spring Grove Village, a Cincinnati neighborhood next to Northside, and heard about the brewery drama unfolding in Boone County from a friend. So Mitchell sent the brewers a message on Facebook.

"I thought, this doesn't sound ethical," Mitchell said. "Rabbit Hash means a lot to me and I said, 'I can do something about it.'"

Through a brief conversation on Facebook, Mitchell said she asked the group why they chose the Rabbit Hash name, and why they didn't talk to the Historical Society. Despite the answers, Mitchell said it still didn't seem right.

"They're going to unrightfully profit from using the name," Mitchell said. "That's how it appeared. It was misappropriation."

So Mitchell posted in the "...Only in Northside" Facebook group, explaining the situation.

"In my correspondence with the owners, they admitted that they handled it poorly by never once initiating any contact with actual Rabbit Hash people during their planning and development process. They said they were sorry. Now let's see if they will back up those words with action," Mitchell posted.

As happens on Facebook from time to time, the group took to action. More than 30 negative reviews were posted to the unopened brewery's page asking them why they took the Rabbit Hash name and asking them to change the name. Friends of the brewery fought back, posting 5-star reviews and raving about the beer.

The resolution 

After a few days of Facebook reviews and constant back and forth via messages, Rabbit Hash Brewery Co-Founder Paul Kemp took a stand.

The situation spiraled out of his hands, Kemp said, it was never his intention to offend that small town his family loves.

"Reaching out to the Historical Society slipped through the cracks. It just got ahead of us," Kemp said. "I know how it must have appeared."

So the brewery is changing its name and asking the community that briefly railed against it to help choose the name.

For Mitchell, the brewery backing up its words with action proves they are good people.

"It is so important to communicate in a respectful way and work together for change," Mitchell said. "There's just something about Rabbit Hash that shouldn't be messed with."

Mitchell and other members of the Northside group have taken down their negative reviews and added new name suggestions to the brewery's Facebook page.

"I can't emphasize enough that we didn't want to offend people. We just wanted to pay homage to the town," Kemp said. "I hope the competition will bring everyone back together. I don't want this to be a lingering negative situation for the Historical Society. "

After the ordeal, the Kemps reached out to the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, apologizing for the ordeal and wishing them the best

"We wish them well. They did the right thing," Kayser, with the historical society, said.