‘RHONY’ Sonja Morgan Restaurant ‘Tipsy Girl’ Driven Out Of NYC By Bethenny, Will Open In CT
Real Housewives Prosecco purveyor Sonja Morgan and her Tipsy Girl restaurant has once again been pushed out of the way by fellow cast member Bethenny Frankel and her Skinnygirl brand, as Sonja has been bumped out of Manhattan and now has plans to open her Tipsy Girl restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. So far, it’s Bethenny-4, Sonja-0 in the battle of the brand.
As RHONY fans saw last season, Bethenny Frankel was not flattered about what Sonja Morgan saw as an ode to Bethenny, whom she viewed as a mentor, says the Inquisitr. Bethenny’s boozy brand, Skinnygirl, was already well established when Sonja decided to launch her own brand of Prosecco named Tipsy Girl. Sonja’s plan also included opening a restaurant with the same name, but Bethenny Frankel got out ahead of Morgan, making sure that she could not use the name in that manner in NYC if she didn’t want to go to court on a trademark violation.
Page Six is putting another mark in the RHONY Bethenny Frankel column as “rival housewife” Sonja Morgan has been driven out of NYC, and even out of the state of New York, and instead will be opening her Tipsy Girl restaurant in Hartford, CT. Morgan tried to open in Manhattan, but Bethenny Frankel, combined with the liquor board, which denied Morgan a liquor license, stopped the Tipsy Girl in her tracks.
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So now, Morgan and partner Peter Guimaraes (who had previously been in talks with Ramona Singer to open a boite) have found a location in Hartford, Connecticut, and are planning to open after some renovations. Morgan has hopes of next opening in Miami, and then circling back and applying again in New York.
Bethenny Frankel did not take it as a compliment that Sonja Morgan called her brand Tipsy Girl. Frankel said that sadly, Morgan made a “feeble attempt to trade on her brand reputation,” which included having one too many in public. But Morgan says that she is still unclear as to why there is a conflict. She says their markets are different.
“I’m a big, fat, tipsy girl.?.?. I have a different market.?.?. The very young party girl and a very old party group that just wants to brunch all day, tourists [who] sit around and drink all day.”
Holiday party wearing @SonjaMorganNY #jumpsuit with my girlfriend @DeeOcleppo #handbag pic.twitter.com/Aj6MTUhVwg
— Sonja Morgan (@SonjatMorgan) December 10, 2016
But the tables have turned in a way, because now, Sonja Morgan is pointing the finger at Bethenny Frankel and blaming her for the liquor board’s refusal to grant Morgan a liquor license in NYC, says Page Six. It was back in February when the community liquor board gave their opinion to the state liquor board that Morgan be denied a liquor license in New York.
“[The chief reason]that [the] ‘Tipsy Girl’ brand was a plotline on the reality TV show the ‘Real House Wives of New York’ [sic], on which [Morgan] appears as a cast member” and “that the location was in fact intended to be a destination location that would be promoted through a buried plotline on the reality television show.”
But Morgan believes that Bethenny Frankel got to the board and swayed their decision, and some of their friends think so too.
“She has done everything to try to trip them up.”
Do you think RHONY Sonja Morgan will be successful in Hartford, Connecticut, with Tipsy Girl? Will she ever get a liquor license in New York?
[Featured Image by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]
