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Website story so far:
* https://www.illegalburger.com/ still exists, but
- Illegal Pizza link is still on the page, but points to an expired website
- Kalaka Mexican Kitchen link is there and works
- No El Cazo link
- No Takiza Taco & Tequila Bar link
- the Franchise Info link is still on the page. I recall that the other day it went nowhere, but now the linked page is back
-- there are two link buttons on that page; the first is circular and goes back to the page you are on, the 2nd goes to another page (franchise discovery steps)
- Facebook link is there and works, but last Facebook update was May 3
- Twitter link is there and works, but last update was Jan 9
- Instagram link is there, but page not found
- the Press (release) link works, but contains VERY stale information
* https://www.kalakamexicankitchen.com/
- Facebook link works; last update was yesterday (!)
- Instagram link is there, but page not found
- The main page shows the newest (2nd) restaurant. They can probably remove that by now
- I think it's a poor design to hide all of their other info/options behind a 3-bar graphic button
* https://www.elcazomexicankitchen.com/ - looks good; they should make their Kalaka website look like that
- Facebook link works; last update March 17
- Instagram link is there, but page not found
* https://www.takiza.com/ -- still shows "COMING SOON 2023"
- Hey Nixon, your Spring deadline is running out !!!
- No social media links
- Locations shows Glendale (currently an Illegal Burger site) and LODO (!)
- No days/hours info given yet
- Food and Drinks menus are up
* https://www.illegalpizza.restaurant/ is expired
As an M & A Business Broker in FL for 20+ yrs, when I read Bacardi purchased a part of Illegal Mezcal, I see it as Barcardi as an owner of a percentage of a private company. Nothing more than that. The owners vote on the direction of the company. My guess is Bacardi purchased more than 50% maybe more than 67% so they control the direction of the company.
The private company may be folded into the Bacardi conglomerate as a cash transaction with agreed-upon incentives.
Chris in order for anything to happen someone needs to buy out Jim Nixon's company and kick that punk to the curb we need to have new leadership with new idea's because this Nixon clown does not give a damn about the shareholders what so ever period and until we get rid of this Nixon asshole nothing will change end of story, I wish I could buy out this company so I could run it right and my way I would expand operations to Las Vegas immediately if that was the case.
I had read something of t 53 about a merger between illegal mezcal and wcvc but even this did not happen. Obviously how could illegal mezcal give up 200 million to merge with a lame horse ...? Let's be serious the truth came out Nixon is a scoundrel
I think my 'DD' is just posting the public facts that anyone can find (when inspired with just the right question to Google, at just the right time).
I don't insure my "instincts" or otherwise claim they will provide benefit to others, or myself for that matter.
Ilegal Mezcal would be Bacardi's first mezcal:
https://tequilaraiders.com/article/bacardi-in-talks-to-buy-ilegal-mezcal-for-under-200-million/
News of the deal is getting out:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/bacardi-is-said-near-ilegal-mezcal-deal-after-l-catterton-talks
https://www.themiddlemarket.com/latest-news/bacardi-reportedly-nears-deal-to-buy-ilegal-mezcal
Bacardi is nearing a deal to acquire Ilegal Mezcal https://t.co/cjonXnC2ID
— Bloomberg (@business) May 30, 2023
Let's hope your instincts and DD are right, Penny.
Stock price check.... that's the only reality... Zero and delisted
Just to use up my free posts for the day ... Illegal Brands IP does own the trademark for "ILLEGAL BRANDS" as a name-string, irrespective of font or appearance:
https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88600530&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch
They applied for it on Sep 12, 2019. It was published for opposition in the Trademark Gazette Aug 11, 2020, it was unopposed, and it was granted Oct 27, 2020.
This link for Illegal Brands IP LLC:
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_co/20191311535
shows the trademarks Illegal Brands IP LLC owns (scroll down).
The current trademark that is under dispute -- a graphic logo using "Illegal Brands" -- was also applied for on Sep 11, 2019, and published in the Gazette on the same date as the other one, August 11, 2020.
Ilegal Mezcal began its opposition on Sep 9, 2020.
That it missed opposing the trademark of the raw text string "ILLEGAL BRANDS" was probably an oopsy that may be a reason the opposition has dragged out for so long.
We can only hope that Bacardi cares about it as much as Ilegal Mezcal does (or did), and that the settlement agreement reached with Ilegal Mezcal -- if it was signed by Nixon -- will still be binding under Bacardi's ownership.
Yeah, I get that. I think there's a non-zero chance that Nixon procrastinated an opportunity away here.
[2 years of settlement talks? Seriously? I can only hope that he traded some of those 3.6B shares for something good, which implies whomever holds them expects him to deliver share value.]
Counting on Nixon for my retirement,
Most of us aren’t really counting on anything. Just being honest.
Personally, I was never really counting on a merger between Ilegal Mezcal and WCVC, but there could still be a trademark deal of some sort that will hold, since "Ilegal Mezcal" is still going to be called that.
If Nixon is going to focus on Mexican food and pricey alcohol, he could do worse than selling Bacardi products, right? There's lots of evidence that restaurants are partnering with specific brands to promote their products, including mezcal products.
Maybe the potential acquisition publicized in late Feb 2023 was falling apart and Nixon knew it. Nixon surely knew of the existing interest Bacardi had in Ilegal Mezcal.
Maybe the extra 60+ days of suspension took into account Bacardi's interest in Ilegal Mezcal.
Or maybe not.
That makes everything even more bizarre
Spoke too soon - Bacardi is going to buy Ilegal Mezcal (5/30/23 news):
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-30/bacardi-is-said-near-ilegal-mezcal-deal-after-l-catterton-talks#xj4y7vzkg
[Note: this article is behind a pay wall, but the headline shows enough]
I guess there's no merger with WCVC.
One more thing on the minority ownership by Bacardi ...
Ilegal Mezcal is a private company. In February 2023 there was a PR about a private equity firm wanting to buy Ilegal Mezcal for less that $200M.
Other than taking that PR it at its word, I don't know how to read between the lines and interpret that any other way, although the article did say that Ilegal Mezcal could choose not to go through with the deal. So far there's been no publicized follow-up that I've seen, so I presume Bacardi's interest remains, Ilegal Mezcal is still private and mostly self-owned, and the deal remains unclosed.
Does Ilegal Mezcal feel it should merge with WCVC to a) gain access to the trademark (seems a lot of work to do that), and/or b) show that its value is worth more than $200M -- with the question being whether a merger with a relisted WCVC would produce a stock price that shows that to be so.
I poked around a Florida corporate database today and found that Nixon's current transfer agent (for Nixon Restaurant Group) only has NRG for a client in an agent capacity, at this time.
I don't know if that means that that company isn't a good agent (with NRG being its only client), or that that company helps companies go public and then moves on, meaning another company will become the agent to 'handle the mail' afterwards.
I invite anyone else to chime in if they know more, for good or bad.
The thing about Ilegal Mezcal (including Bacardi's part ownership) is that -- while some fantastic fantasy stories can be spun around the bare-bones public facts -- the public facts are too bare bones to know what kind of deal they have made with Illegal Brands IP.
I talked to someone today who said there might be some kind of 'rebranding' going on at the Glendale Illegal Burger, which is at the address given for the Glendale Takiza Taco & Tequila Bar, but the person was only an external observer, and not an insider.
Based on Google street view of the property, there doesn't look like there's enough room for Illegal Burger and Takiza Taco to reside side-by-side, so it's plausible that that Illegal Burger will be replaced by the Taco & Tequila Bar, but again, there's no public statement by Nixon that Illegal Burger at Glendale is kaput.
Since Illegal Pizza seems to be gone, if Nixon rebranded all of his Illegal Burgers as Takiza Taco & Tequila Bars, that would open up the "Illegal Brands" trademark for use by Ilegal Mezcal. But there's no public evidence (that I have found) that Nixon plans to do that to all the other Illegal Burger places.
[Side note: Nixon still offers CBD Water on his Illegal Burger menus. I wonder who is buying it for $5.23/bottle. He also offers Illegal Brands (IB) Water for $2/bottle.]
Hey Penny
Great DD you supplied!
The best part is it appears Bacardi is now part owner of the "Illegal Mezcal" brand.
The back story of the brand is great! Bacardi's going to pay!!
YAHOO!!!!!!
CHA CHING!!!!
Yes, I'd like to place an order for that, with a slice of wry humor on the side.
--
But seriously, I think the death of the Illegal Pizza site is (sort of) a good sign, even though it's still unprofessional for the main Illegal Burger site to have the link to that now expired site.
In fact, there's tons wrong with the Illegal Burger site, but I can only hope that behind the scenes Nixon is having Bentobox work on all new stuff that will be slid-in in an instant sometime soon that eliminates all of the bogus stuff and ties all the new stuff together.
--
I also don't (yet) think that infamouspizza.com site has anything to do with Nixon. It almost looks like a practice-site for someone learning restaurant-orented web design.
An ounce of perception and a pound of obscure.
Likely just a coincidence:
https://infamouspizza.com/
Slogan: "Pizza this good should be illegal."
Sound familiar?
The website is not fully set up, and doesn't even say where it is. I have not been able to find anything about this place. [The website copyright in 2023, but isn't by Bentobox.]
In other news, if you click on the "Illegal Pizza" link at the bottom of the Illegal Burger website, to go to:
https://www.illegalpizza.restaurant/
you get a page that says "Website Expired."
Well, well, well ...
I wonder what else will turn up. [Illegal Turnips?]
Yes, "we" retail penny-flippers "need to see WCVC relisted" so that, at the least, we get our money out of it, and maybe make a long-awaited profit if we bought in at a low-enough price.
Personally, I don't think Nixon cares about penny-flippers at all. If he's going to bring WCVC back to public trading, it's not so you and I can trade again. He's going to do it because there's some benefit to WCVC in the here-and-now.
With an A/S of 10B, and a last-known O/S of a little over 7B, if WCVC opens at and stays at .0001, that's only ~$300K left, which isn't really all that much. He doesn't need to bring WCVC back to life for only that much.
If Nixon relists and does an immediate reverse split, such that his filings show NO real value to his stock (i.e., he'd stay at .0001 if he didn't R/s) then he might make a few more bucks while totally shafting existing shareholders, but that would suggest that his business is failing, and that he's desperate for cash, and he'll grab it any way he can before having to shut down
Based solely on what I've been finding this last year+ (and posting about), I don't have the impression that Nixon's business is failing. Instead, he seems to be changing focus (away from burgers, pizza, and CBD, and toward Mexican food, which is popular everywhere).
Since
* it also seems to be true that Ilegal Mezcal -- which is already successful -- has an interest in the "Illegal Brands" trademark that Nixon owns,
* AND market interest in mezcal is VERY hot (plus Ilegal Mezcal is nice and pricey all by itself),
* AND Ilegal Mezcal has been negotiating a settlement over the Trademark opposition that it started; and when does a plaintiff decide to settle a business action that it initiated, when the defendant didn't do it any wrong in the first place?;
does that sound like Nixon is failing, or rather, does it sound like he has the upper hand in some way?
Nixon sold, or maybe gave out, 3.6B shares during 2021, which was during the first year (!!) of settlement negotiations (and note: he wasn't filing, so we don't know who those shares went to).
If that wasn't just a retail release out of desperation, because he needed a few bucks in addition to his PPP loans, then whomever is holding the majority of those shares just might like to see them increase in value when Nixon re-lists, and is actually expecting them to gain value.
In my opinion, Nixon will re-list for the advantage of WCVC and any business partners (i.e., not mere retail penny-flippers); otherwise he will just stay dark with the SEC's tacit blessing.
Oh - and as a reminder, the 2023 Florida filing shows that Nixon changed the transfer agent of Nixon Restaurant Group (a sub-corp of WCVC) to "Hamilton and Associates Law Group PA":
https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=NIXONRESTAURANTGROUP%20P150000841150&aggregateId=domp-p15000084115-b9e0da33-7c5b-480a-a81d-8ff90b1401f3&searchTerm=nixon%20restaurant%20group&listNameOrder=NIXONRESTAURANTGROUP%20P150000841150
What is Hamilton good at? In their own words:
"Since its inception in 1999, Hamilton & Associates Law Group, P.A. has provided services in the area of corporate finance, and securities law specialilzing in going public transactions and direct public offerings. The firm has represented more than 300 market participants in corporate finance and securities transactions since its inception. The firm represents issuers, corporate officers and directors, shareholders and other financial market participants in all areas of securities law and corporate finance. The firm has a substantial practice involving its role as the securities lawyer in the going public process including initial public offerings, direct public offerings as well as domestic and international exchange listings."
Here's what Hamilton thinks of the majority of sub-penny stocks that deserve to be relegated to the Expert Market (and/or Grey Market):
https://www.securitieslawyer101.com/2021/rule-15c2-11-compliance-deadline-draws-near/
Question: Why would Hamilton agree to be Nixon's transfer agent if he's only dinking around as yet another low-life sub-penny stock that isn't going to go anywhere but oblivion if he re-lists?
In closing, to rehash: Nixon doesn't care about penny-flippers, but I'll bet he does care about investors and corporate partners who see his company as a future, if not current, success story.
Thx Penny for the well stated summary … we really need to see wcvc relisted all boil down to this
It might also be worth mentioning that back in 2020, Nixon filed an NT 10-Q Nov-17, 2020 (notice of late filing), which was after the Trademark opposition began, and then never filed his late 10-Q at all.
Trademark Board case filings of 1-13-2021 and 4-2-2021 show that they began settlement negotiations at that time.
Nixon began to increase his O/S sometime around Feb 2021, until it reached about 7B (the total increase was about 3.6B, on top of what was originally 3.4B).
Nixon allowed WCVC to get demoted to the Expert Market late Sep 2021, and was revoked Feb 23, 2022. All that while they were in settlement negotiations.
On or about Feb 23, 2022, Nixon moved WCVC (on paper) to Florida, and also created LLCs for a 2nd Kalaka Mexican Kitchen and for his new Takiza Taco & Tequila Bar.
The 2nd Kalaka Mexican Kitchen has opened, and his www.takiza.com website says that TWO Takiza places are 'coming soon'.
Late 2022, Nixon bought, refurbished, and reopened a Mexican restaurant called El Cazo.
So, Nixon seems to be investing more heavily in Mexican food, which, arguably, pairs nicely with tequila, and would pair well with mezcal. A little poking around with Google shows that the popularity of mezcal is increasing.
In Sep 2020, Ilegal Mezcal filed a Trademark opposition against Illegal Brands IP:
https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=88598662&pty=EXT
The Trademark Board granted Ilegal Mezcal a delay to get their case ready, so the more formal opposition began in December 2020:
https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91266421&pty=OPP
and has continued down through today.
On March 13, 2023, Ilegal Mezcal entered filings -- at the Board's order -- to prove that they have been engaged in good-faith settlement negotiations for a good chunk of 2021 and the entirety of 2022.
What can be seen of the publicly available filings shows that an agreement was reached and was just awaiting Nixon's signature.
Illegal Brands IP has owned the trademark on the name "Ilegal Brands" for some time, having gotten it without opposition.
However, when it applied for a Trademark for its graphic representation (=logo) on shirts, hats, and etc.:
https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88598662&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
Ilegal Mezcal opposed it, claiming it looked too much like -- and thus would be confused for -- Ilegal Mezcal's graphic logo on its product bottles.
Note: I couldn't find evidence that Ilegal Mezcal actually owns a trademark on its own graphic logo, so I think that Ilegal Mezal realized it was late to the game on owning the trademark on "Ilegal ..." branded products, so attempted to muscle-in on what Nixon already owns, doing so through the side-door of the graphic-logo route, and not the entire name itself (which, again, Nixon already owns as "Illegal Brands").
These are the basic facts.
Everything else about the nature of any joint venture between Nixon's restaurants and Ilegal Mezcal products is speculation.
But ... the timing is right for restaurants to promote and sell mezcal products.
Mezcal ... Cramer etc.
I missed something. I've been in WCVC for what seems like years, but I've missed the Mezcal connection.
Enlighten me. Please.
Thx.
Zoom zoom zoomwe going to the moon
$WCVC FILE SOME PAPER AND ZOOM $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
WCVC - Debt limit Deal=Rally in Small Caps
The Kick-Off Months in the OTC - Jun/Jul - Jan/Feb
I'll Alert you of stocks to Buy,
before the Run happens !
______________________________________________
May 28, 20236:49 PM EDT
A deal to lift the $31.4 trillion debt limit
announced by the White House
and House Republicans late Saturday
would avert a catastrophic U.S. default
and boost overall appetite for risk
while also buoying some of the sectors
that have been left behind
in this year’s tech-led rally,
such as cyclical stocks and small caps,
investors said.
Among the market sectors
that stand to benefit from a deal
are defense stocks,
which have lagged during the negotiations,
as well as cyclical sectors of the market
and energy stocks,
said Quincy Krosby,
chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
Stuart Kaiser, head of equity trading strategy at Citi,
said a deal could be a “modest positive”
for equity markets at the index level
but could provide a greater boost for sectors
that have lagged this year,
including shares of companies
with weaker balance sheets
and small-cap stocks.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/debt-deal-could-boost-unloved-corners-us-stock-market-though-risks-loom-2023-05-28/
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Live! Charts
________________________________________________________________________
Haven’t we all?
i hope its a good major thing had a couple bad major problems.
Very true. Never know.
Something major is about to happen in your life.
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I think it's impossible because at that time the OTC market was on fire. I would settle for it to be trading again
Thanks trader, excellent and classy article!
WCVC
Saw on Instagram that Dennis Rodman had lost the bulk of his $40M in savings to his financial advisor scamming him. How perfect of a spokesperson would he be for Ilegal Mezcal and if we partnered up and relisted? Oh boy. My new dream….
Postings on a Saturday? Long weekend even? Sooner or later.
April 23, 2023 article - Mezcal's Time to Shine:
https://www.marketwatchmag.com/mezcals-time-to-shine/
WCVC - The 12 Best Mezcal Brands to Drink Right Now
https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/best-mezcal-brands-1234787331/
The only thing I 'know' -- meaning infer with confidence -- is that Ilegal Mezcal has a serious interest in the Illegal Brands trademark, hence the 2-year trademark dispute.
Beyond that is speculation with a lot of wonder, since Ilegal Mezcal is already a successful company that Bacardi has a minority interest in, and another private equity firm expressed interest in acquiring (according to a Feb 2023 article).
I haven't seen anything recent about that acquisition deal, so maybe it fell through; but whether it's due to an interest in going public with or without WCVC -- or some other reason entirely -- is, again, speculation.
Aside from its interest in the trademark, I don't know of another reason why Ilegal Mezcal would 'need' WCVC, especially if it's only going to sell its alcohol products.
But, Mexican food restaurants are on the rise; 'taco and tequila bar' combos are also on the rise, and mezcal is sold in tequila bars. Even the current Takiza Taco & Tequila Bar drinks menu shows one specialty drink with mezcal (though it's not Ilegal Mezcal).
https://www.takiza.com/menus/#drinks
Also, since you've asked, I asked google about mezcal companies partnering with restaurant chains, and got this hit:
https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2023/05/desolas-mezcal-partners-with-fogo-de-chao/
Note that May 2023 date.
Also note this April 2023 article:
https://kdvr.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/630204966/su-casa-mezcal-partners-with-top-distributors-breakthru-beverage-group-empire-merchants-and-fedway-associates/
about a mezcal brand partnering for distribution, where distribution includes being featured as the base liquor in specialty drinks on menus of fancy-schmancy bars and restaurants.
Nixon is obviously not the first person in the mezcal/restaurant partnership space, but Ilegal Mezal sure would be a great brand to partner with, especially if you are the restaurant business that owns a Trademark that Ilegal Mezcal really wants in on.
Happy Memorial Day long ….God bless the USA !!!
Do you think Ilegal Mezcal has genuine interest in listing via WCVC? This is my dream lol.
Burgers are out, Mexican food/Taco&Tequila Bars are in (and gaining traction).
If COVID-19 hadn't hit, maybe Nixon's burger franchise might have expanded, but I suspect that it's hard to start a new burger chain franchise. Even pizza franchises are probably tough (although mom & pop for either probably have a good chance to succeed on any given local level).
However, I'll bet there's a LOT of room to expand and even franchise Mexican food, including small-menu/high-liquor-priced taco & tequila bars.
If I weren't in WCVC already, I probably wouldn't be looking into it, but my interest in WCVC has spurred me on to research it, and I think what Nixon is now focusing on has a good chance to succeed. This is a building wave, whereas I think CBD in the restaurant market not only crested, but never really was much of a wave to begin with.
[CBD is out there in specialty 'health' shops, but who is going to go to even up-scale fast food to get 'healthy CBD'?]
I wish there was more public info on Nixon's interest in mezcal, but mezcal is also growing market share so hopefully what was initially an opposition action has turned into a win-win deal for Nixon and Ilegal Mezcal.
Same here. WCVC was an up and coming OTC stock in summer of ‘21. Ppl were ready to support it until Nixon went dark. Give us a good narrative and if they come back who knows? But it’s gotta be more than family run Denver dinky restos. We need something bigger like Mezcal with a famous spokesperson. That might light a fire under fintwit. Burgers and tacos just not gonna cut it Jimmer!
The Illegal Burger Franchise Opportunity begins with a solid business model and awesome food
This is the cornerstone of any great restaurant business. Our menu features all-natural beef, chicken and black bean burgers, plus a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. We add a special seasoning blend then we hand-craft, sear and grill each burger to perfection.
Illegal Burger’s biggest differentiator is our exclusive line of CBD products. Cannabinoid, or CBD, is attributed to many health benefits. Recently, the FDA approved of its use to treat two forms of childhood epilepsy, and consumers report it positively impacting anxiety, sleep disorders, and even chronic pain
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