People in Ontario take their butter tarts seriously!
Wellington Township, and Kenilworth (red), had sent
Kawartha Lakes, about 3 hours drive east, a “cease
and desist” order © google maps
Wellington County North is quiet, peaceful area, where people know just about everybody else by their first names.
Now Wellington North township is known for walking trails, cycling trails even a birding trail and has become a popular spot for people from the big cities to the south, to come for a bit of tranquility..and perhaps something sweet. In the past few years the locals started the butter tart trail to bring more tourists and the needed dollars into the community..
The Kenilworth Country Kitchen, is one of about 18 bakeries, markets and stores along a 30 km stretch of quiet country road. In a community of about 11,500, thousands of butter tarts are sold every week. They’re sold to locals, where tarts fuel local council meetings and events, and to tourists traveling along the Butter tart trail.
Then, the township noticed something shocking. It appears the city of Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland region had copied their concept and had begun a Butter Tart Tour.
April Marshall, head of tourism for the township said, “it appears to me it’s the same concept, they just changed a word. She said
When she first came across Kawartha’s “Butter Tart tour” on line, she got a trademark laywer and obtained a copyright to the butter tart trail name.
Ms Marshall points out the Kawartha Lakes region is seven times as big, has a long established tourism industry and provincial funding for publicity. “It’s frustrating,” she said.
So much so, that the township sent off a “cease and desist” order.
Kawartha officials say they just want more recognition for tarts made by the 29 bakeries in their area. They say their lawyers don’t believe they’re infringing on Wellington County’s trademark Kawartha tourism director Karen Theriault adds, “we didn’t know there was a butter tart trail.”
Back in Wellington county, that line is hard to swallow.
Lindsay Lingar, owner of the Kenilworth diner says she sells about 500 tarts a week. The recipe is almost 100 years old, and doesn’t use corn syrup. She wants Kawartha to rename their tour. “ I don’t think they realize how big a deal it is here”, she added.
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