"Pho Thin" is a famous brand in Hanoi, attracting many tourists from far away to enjoy when traveling to the capital. However, for many years, many people have confused the two long-standing Pho Thin brands in Hanoi: "Pho Thin Bo Ho" and "Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc".
Pho Thin Bo Ho (Dinh Tien Hoang street)
Pho Thin Bo Ho is the common name of Pho Thin restaurant located on Dinh Tien Hoang street, opposite Ngoc Son temple (Hoan Kiem district). This pho restaurant has existed for nearly 70 years.
Pho Thin Bo Ho was founded in 1955 by Mr. Bui Chi Thin (1928-2001). Currently, according to research, the restaurant is managed by the eldest grandson of the Bui family, Mr. Bui Chi Thanh (34 years old). The restaurant serves rare, well-done, flank, and flank pho.
In 2005, Pho Thin Bo Ho was granted a certificate of protection for the trademark "Pho Thin" by the Intellectual Property Office to Mr. Bui Chi Dat (son of Mr. Bui Chi Thin), according to trademark registration certificates No. 61194 and 277810.
Thus, according to the protection certificate, the trademark "Pho Thin" belongs to Mr. Thanh's family. Many diners have the habit of adding the place name Bo Ho to Pho Thin Bo Ho to easily distinguish between different "Pho Thin" restaurants.
In 2013, after the trademark protection expired, Mr. Thanh's family continued to apply for registration. Two years later, the "Pho Thin" trademark was granted a certificate, valid until December 26, 2024.
In 2019, Pho Thin Bo Ho was ordered by the Hanoi People's Committee to serve about 4,000 bowls of pho to serve the US - North Korea Summit (from February 26 to March 1). Pho Thin Bo Ho received many positive reviews from international journalists and reporters.
Currently, in addition to the restaurant at 61 Dinh Tien Hoang, Pho Thin Bo Ho has 2 more branches (No. 1 Le Van Huu, No. 1 Hang Tre). These restaurants are all managed by the descendants of Mr. Bui Chi Thin. Pho at the restaurant costs from 50,000 VND - 80,000 VND/bowl.
Mr. Bui Chi Thanh affirmed that at the present time, this family focuses on selling pho, not selling brands or polishing their name.
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Photo: Pho Thin Bo Ho
Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc
Pho Thin Restaurant 13 Lo Duc (Pham Dinh Ho Ward, Hai Ba Trung District) was established in 1979 by Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin (71 years old). Since its inception, the restaurant has only served rare beef pho.
In 2009, Mr. Thin was invited to Korea to teach how to cook rare beef pho. The shop named "Pho Tang" was born later in the land of kimchi, with the implication that the pho was cooked from a recipe given by Vietnamese people, as well as a gratitude for Mr. Thin's pho. About 10 years later, Pho Thin Lo Duc was opened in many other locations in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Ho Chi Minh City; in foreign countries such as Japan, Australia, America...
In 2009, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin registered for protection of the trademark Pho Thin but was rejected. The trademark of Mr. Dat (Pho Thin Bo Ho) and Mr. Thin registered differed only in the uppercase and lowercase letters on the trademark. This showed signs of being identical or confusingly similar to the earlier registered trademark.
In 2020, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin continued to submit 3 trademark registrations with changes to the address and image. These applications are in the processing status.
Recently, the Pho Thin Lo Duc brand has received a lot of attention from many people surrounding the conflict between the founder and the person who introduced himself as running the company related to this brand.
Many diners are confused when pho shops with the name "Pho Thin Lo Duc" and the image of Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin "spring up like mushrooms". However, they can hardly verify whether this is a legitimate franchise shop or not. Many locations are controversial because the taste is not the same as the "original" at 13 Lo Duc.
Before the brand controversy, Pho Thin Lo Duc also caused controversy many times about its price. This is considered one of the most expensive pho restaurants in Hanoi. At one point, Pho Thin Lo Duc reached 90,000 VND/bowl.
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