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Planned revival of the historic tavern where the Marine Corps began ensnared in trademark battle

Federal court is being asked to decide if "The Tun," the name of a re-creation of a historic tavern and birthplace of the Marine Corps, is confusingly similar to that of Tun Tavern.

Rendering of The Tun, which a nonprofit group plans to build at 19 S. Second St. in Old City.
Rendering of The Tun, which a nonprofit group plans to build at 19 S. Second St. in Old City.Read moreCourtesy of The Tun

The Atlantic City restaurateur who holds the trademark to Tun Tavern has gone to court to block a nonprofit group from using “The Tun” as the name for its planned re-creation of the historic tavern in Old City Philadelphia, where the Marine Corps began in 1775.

The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation, a group of Philadelphians with ties to the Marines, the Navy, the Freemasons, and three other Tun-connected organizations, is accused in U.S. District Court of infringing upon the Tun Tavern trademark. The foundation is raising money to build a historically accurate restaurant and educational center on Second Street south of Market, at an estimated price tag of $16 million. The foundation filed to register “The Tun” with the Patent & Trademark Office in 2021.

Montgomery Dahm, the Marine veteran who opened Tun Tavern at the Sheraton Convention Center in Atlantic City in 1998, alleges in his complaint that his business would suffer from the competition and that confusion over the name would cloud his planned expansion. Dahm said he has an agreement with MBB Management, a Philadelphia hospitality consultancy, to license his trademark for additional Tun Tavern locations.

» READ MORE: A plan to revive Tun Tavern, birthplace of the Marine Corps, in Old City

In an interview, Dahm said he and officials from the Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation had been negotiating terms of a licensing agreement. “I gave them more than a favorable deal, and for whatever reason, they’re not taking it,” he said. Dahm said that he had waived the licensing fee for the National Museum of the Marine Corps next to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, which operates its own reproduction of Tun Tavern.

“I want this to happen,” Dahm said of the Old City project. “I’m a patriot. But I have to protect my trademark.”

Representing the foundation is board member Craig Mills, a Marine veteran and executive shareholder with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, a Center City law firm. “I can confirm that we have spoken with Monty, but it’s not appropriate for me to get into details,” Mills said Wednesday.

The foundation, which purchased property for the project in April, said it hopes to break ground in November and open a year later to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps’ founding.

According to plans shared in April, the Old City site will house two restaurants, both themed to the colonial period, along with Marines-related displays — but won’t be a museum. Besides the Marines, five organizations trace their founding or first meetings to Tun Tavern: the U.S. Navy, Pennsylvania Freemasons, the St. Andrew’s Society, the Friendly Sons & Daughters of St. Patrick, and the Society of St. George. Any profits from The Tun will be contributed toward causes supported by the six founding organizations, the foundation says.

The original Tun Tavern was built on the waterfront in 1693 and razed in 1781. The location is now beneath the southbound lanes of I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.