So he leaves. All my material that I gave him for the cyclops bust was kept by him, never to return to me. That was fine.
A year later this man and his wife open Museo de la Catrina. Yeah that is right. A year later. So for the ones that said I copied Catrina...That would be impossible. Go ahead and look it up. Check the county records as to who opened first. I await your apology...
http://descubresaltillo.blogspot.mx/2009/11/museo-de-la-catrina.html Indisputable proof they opened a year after us.
But I like the Catrina guy. He is been ok to me. No problem. He may have been inspired to do the Catrina museum after seeing Monster Cafe. In fact, I am sure of it. And that is ok. I hold him at no fault. However these next people is a different thing altogether.
Last Saturday 2 girls came in asking for the Museo del Horror. We thought they got our name wrong and laughed it off...
I started reading about Saltillo as I do sometimes late at night when I cannot sleep. Stuff going on in our city etc.
I came across this...
http://www.eldiariodecoahuila.com.mx/notas/2014/10/17/abre-puertas-museo-horror-460986.asp
Um...WHAT? A Horror musuem?!?! In Saltillo? Hmmm...Did they open before me? Because I surely would not want to copy someone that had done something before me...
Um...they opened in 2014...So yeah...I have been here 6 years before them...Well at least they did not copy me by painting murals on their walls of monsters...
Well...at least they did not do any sculptures of any monsters like I did....
HOW BLATANT CAN THEY BE?
On there page it says they also do tours of it....Gee I wonder where they stole that idea from?
On their page it says they show monster movies....
I am running out of things....
well, at least they don't do annoucements like we do featuring the monsters.
Well at LEAST they must have picked a location far away from us so people wouldn't be confused between the 2 of us right?
Oh...according to google maps it is 8 minutes WALKING DISTANCE FROM US...
REALLY? I MEAN REALLY?
DUDE...THEY TOTALLY COPIED MONSTER CAFE SALTILLO! I GUESS THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CREATIVE BONE IN THEIR WHOLE BODY! THEY DID EVERYTHING BUT NAME THEMSELVES MONSTER CAFE SALTILLO PART 2!!!!
AY CARUMBA!
I COULD FORGIVE THE MUSEO DE KATRINA GUY AS IT WAS NOT EXACTLY MONSTERS BUT THIS? COME ON! HOW BLATANT DO YOU HAVE TO BE?
I AM JUST GLAD THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR PLACE NEAR A MCDONALDS! WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE COPIED?
I HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MUSEUM YET AS I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS TONIGHT BUT I DON'T THINK I WILL. I COULD NOT EVEN STAND TO LOOK AT IT.
THEY HAVE ALMOST 9,000 FANS AND BEEN ON FACEBOOK 6 MONTHS. MONSTER CAFE HAS BEEN ON FACEBOOK 5 YEARS AND ONLY HAVE 7,000. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? METHINKS THEY HIRED A SERVICE AND MOST OF THE FANS ARE FAKE. THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL 9,000 PEOPLE SAW IT IN BARELY 6 MONTHS. SEE WHAT HAPPENS IS WHEN SOMEONE OPENS A PLACE THEY GET ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS THAT PERSONALLY KNOW THEM TO LIKE THEIR PAGE...THEN THEY CHANGE THEIR NAME TO THE RESTAURANT OR BUSINESS NAME AND WHAMMO! INSTANT FANS. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED HERE.
HAD I NEVER DONE MONSTER CAFE THESE CREEPS WOULD OF NEVER HAD THE GUTS TO DO IT THEMSELVES. I COULD POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND IT IN A BIG CITY LIKE NEW YORK WITH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE BUT SALTILLO ONLY HAS 700,000! THEY DEFINITLY KNOW ABOUT MONSTER CAFE AND HAD NO QUALMS COPYING MY IDEA.
WHAT NEXT WILLTHEY COPY? MY MENU? UGHH,,,,
LIKE I SAID BEFORE...IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY BUT RIGHT NOW IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT. KINDA FEELS LIKE ANAL RAPE.
SECOND RATE IMPOSTERS...
EDIT=YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE RACISM GOING ON IN SALTILLO. I LOOKED AT THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE. TOO MANY MENTIONS OF PINCHE GRINGO ETC. WHICH MEANS IN ENGLISH F-ING AMERICAN. CHECK OUT THIS...
CHECK OUT THIS ARACELY VALLE RODRIGUEZ PERSON! SHE IS A DEFINITE RACIST! LOOK AT THE WAY SHE TALKS ABOUT AMERICANS. THERE ARE OTHERS TOO.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE SOME REAL RACISM, CHECK OUT THE COMMENTS ON MUSEO DEL HORROR'S FACEBOOK PAGE. NEVER HAVE I SEEN THE WORD GRINGO BE USED WITH SUCH DISDAIN AS I HAVE SEEN HERE TODAY. NOW I KNOW WHAT A BLACK MAN FEELS LIKE IN AMERICA. I NEVER THOUGHT MEXICO COULD BE RACIST.
AND ALL OF THE RACIST COMMENTS HAVE THE PERSONAL APPROVAL OF THE MUSEO DEL HORROR. HE LIKED ALL OF THEM WITH A THUMB'S UP. THAT IS TERRIBLE THAT COMPANY SUPPORTING RACISM LIKE THAT.
WOW...CHECK OUT HUGO FIGUEROA! HE SAYS SEND SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING BAD TO US! THAT IS A TERRORIST THREAT! IF THESE ARE THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT FREQUENT THIS MUSEUM, I DO NOT WANT THEM HERE.
MORE RACISM...OLE ELENA DE LA ROSA SAYS I AM ACTING SUPERIOR...UM HOW? WHEN? PLEASE LET ME KNOW...THEN SHE GOES AND LEAVES A NEGATIVE REVIEW OF MONSTER CAFE DESPITE NEVER BEING HERE. WHO IS THE RACIST SUPERIOR HERE? HER.
Un buen amigo me acaba de comentar que el restaurante llamado monster cafe nos esta acusando de que nuestro museo es una copia de su restaurante, DESDE CUANDO UN RESTAURANTE BAR SE COMPARA CON UN MUSEO??? alardea el gringo de que aqui en el Museo Del Horror saltillo somos muy poco originales por que le copiamos todo gasp emoticon gasp emoticon dice el gringuillo que su recorrido por su restaurante es lo mismo que nuestras veladas paranormales, horror nights, casas de espantos, noches de animas, campamentos fantasmales, etc etc etc jajaja permitanme la burla ahora resulta QUE YO SEPA AL MONSTER CAFE SE VA A EMBRIAGARSE... NO TE ENSEÑAN ARTE, CULTURA NI HISTORIA SI QUIERA SOBRE EL GRAN GENERO DE TERROR grin emoticon Y LO QUE MAS ME CAGA ES QUE UN PENDEJO QUE NI SIQUIERA ES MEXICANO QUIERA HACERSE EL MUY CHINGON CON SUS MURALES JODIDOS Y NOMAS POR QUE TIENE "DINERO" YA CREE QUE ES MUY CHINGON AQUI LES DEJO A TODOS LA RESEÑA QUE EL TIPO PUBLICO EN SU BLOG DEL TAN "PRIVILEGIADO MONSTER CAFE" EL RESTO LO DEJO A SU CRITERIO......... AQUI EN EL MUSEO DEL HORROR MOSTRAMOS ARTE, CULTURA MURALES, CICLOS DE CINE ENTRETENIMIENTO SANO SIN ALCOHOL PARA LA FAMILIA ENTERA HE DICHO!!!!!!!!
THE ABOVE IS WHAT THEIR BOSS JUST SAID. NICE WORDS HUH?
I swear I feel like changing the concept of Monsters to Superheroes...
EDIT-2017
Some people have said I am acting like a pussy by writing this. No, a pussy would write this anonymously. Without showing who they are. I am out in front and center. I stand by my words. I moved to a country where I am clearly the minority, set up a business, and have been here for 11 years despite being out of my element, not knowing the culture, and surely not speaking the language perfectly. Now that takes REAL balls my friends. What a real pussy is when someone has a bad experience at Monster Cafe yet never opens their mouth in front of me...but instead goes to Facebook or ¨I-am-a-huge-whining-baby.com¨ and writes about how bad we are etc. We always want to give our best to our customers. Always. We always want to correct a problem if there is a legitimate one. We cannot fix it if one never lets it be known to us in a civil manner. It is precisely why we turned off the reviews on our page. Too many whiney baby know nothing millenials were leaving bad comments and getting their equally baby friends who had never been here before to do the same. It is childish and immature. All I have is my word. It is the one thing my wife loves about me. I am honest to a fault. So if one reads about negative experiences here, come and ask me. I have nothing to hide. So try as I might. I am not Professor Charles Xavier of the Xmen. I cannot read minds. If a customer is dissatisfied, let us know. Either it will be legit or not. Also try not to believe stories that we pay our waiters nothing here. We actually went around and asked other restaurants what they pay their waiters. It is more in truth. If a person claims that they worked here and had low wages etc. Ask them for proof. Ask them for their papers showing they worked here. I would be $10 they could not provide any. We never stole anyone´s tips either. That is outrageous. Eh, some jackasses will say anything for sensationalism sake.
Plus, I am not the owner. Just the general manager. Just because I am an American doesn´t mean I own it. That is a common misunderstanding. I talk about it like I own it because I love the place. But it is really not mine.
And even after all of this proof I have heard some STILL say...one is a museum and one is a restaurant. Let me ask ya this then. If I didn´t serve food at my place what would it be? It would be...a museum wouldn´t it? So just adding food to it changes what each meaning is? IF there were a shoe store out there called Monster shoes, and had the Universal Monsters in it like I do, would you still say it was completely different? IF you would ,you would be an ignoramous for sure. One person remarked that if a Burger King opened up near a Mcdonalds, would that be copying? Of course! Mcdonalds had their restaurant BEFORE Burger King. Burger King years ago did in fact, copy Mcdonalds. Also, I was under the impression to be a museum, one had to...actually have artifacts which they are based on. NOT make them yourself right? The bird museum has actual birds in it. The Mummy Museum in San Antonio de las Anas has actual mummies, right? Oh well...Calling the other place a museum is a little loose with the meaning of Museum...
oh...and SO tired of getting called Pinche Pelon by babies on Facebook. Hiding behind their keyboards... And some have the nerve to call me a pussy? LOL! Yes even in 2017 racism unfortunately, still exists. Even here. Been here 11 years and some small minded people still see the Americano despite being a Mexican citizen that I am. These are the same people that hate me, yet LOVE American culture, music, and movies...hypocritical much? I love Mexico, I even love Saltillo. There are many expat Americans that call Saltillo home. Tone down the racism a bit por favor.
That is shady! They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this is something else entirely. Maybe its time to rebrand into the golden age super hero cafe! bright colors and spandex all over, walls covered in comic book pages cases full of super heroes..it could be great.
ReplyDeleteSHH...DON'T GIVE THEM ANY IDEAS. REMEMBER I DID HAD THAT IDEA A FEW YEARS AGO AND BLOGGED ABOUT IT
DeleteMan after running that facebook page through a translator and giving it a read it almost feels like you need armed guards at your place! Iv always hoped to get down there and see your place in person one day but the people of your town make it sound unsafe and unwelcoming. Do these people not understand that they drive away tourist dollars by posting stuff like that?
DeleteActually i've never heard from you guys and i have a horror themed group on facebook ... Hit me up as Ennio Lombardi or Reunion del Terror on Facebook we should talk.
ReplyDeleteTHERE ARE MANY ENNIO LOMBARDI'S ON FB. IF WE DIDN'T GET BACK TO YOU WE MUST HAVE MISSED YA. SORRY
DeleteAwww, don't fight, both places are cool and I think both have something to offer. We're from Monterrey and last weekend we went to visit, the Museo del Horror, La Katrina museum and, of course, you guys. I think you should associate with each other and make a "horror tour" of the three places or organize something together, that would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the guys from the Museo del Horror are know in Monterrey in some circles of horror fans, so, maybe that's where their fanpage likes come from.
EVER SEEN THE SEINFELD EPISODE WHERE THEY SHRINKED JERRY'S SHIRT AT THE DRY CLEANERS? ALL HE WANTED WAS FOR THEM TO ADMIT THEY SHRUNK THE SHIRT. IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE THESE PEOPLE MAN UP AND SAY THEY COPIED ME. I HAVE THE DIGITAL VIDEO FROM THE CAFE CAMERAS AND I FED IT THEIR PIC. THEY VISITED US WAY BEFORE THEY OPENED THEIR "MUSEUM". YOU MAY NOT KNOW BUT WE WERE HERE BEFORE KATRINA TOO. THE OWNER OF IT CAME IN TO VISIT US IN OUR FIRST YEAR THEN A YEAR LATER OPENED UP HIS PLACE. IT WAS A KIND OD COPY OF US TOO. BUT I HAVE SINCE MET WITH HIM THE KATRINA OWNER IS A GOOD GUY. THIS MUSEO GUY HAS A POTTY MOUTH.
DeleteI agree with you in ALMOST everything, except the "forgiving Museo de Katrina"
ReplyDeleteWhat SHOULD you forgive them? Do you consider Catrinas a copy of monsters like Frankenstein and Swamp thing? If you do, I'm sorry but I must say it's part of mexican Dia de Muertos culture, which you already should know.
Everything else, is a rip-off, maybe you should sue them.
OH I KNOW THAT ABOUT THE KATRINA CULTURE. SIN DUDA. JUST READ MY POST ABOVE. NO IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MONSTERS PERSAY....THERE IS A STORY BEHIND WHY THE MAN AT THE KATRINA MUSEUM MADE IT. COME ON IN AND I WILL TELL YOU SOMETIME
DeleteA museum and a cafe are just NOT the same, the idea is similar, but they don't focus on monsters, they focus on films, about dolls, ouijas, conjurees etc, I think you know what I'm talking about. I have been at Monster Cafe before, and I can relate you guys are more like classic monsters and that's great, I actually like the idea, but do you see your Cafe with a mural of Anabelle, or a Ouija on the tables? Just NO, as I said the ideas are similar, but NOT THE SAME, so please get over it, no one is copying you, the owners may have had the idea of some other museum or whatever. Do you see McDonalds demanding on Burger King because both of them sell similar things? OF COURSE NOT, so please please get over it, you´re just making yourself look a little desperate because of the competition, keep doing your thing bud, there´s enough place in Saltillo for both places.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it they have a section for classic monsters. AND they have the other stuff as well. John's taco stand and philipe's taco stand are similar. They is so un specific though. Doing classic monsters is very specific. If they had JUST done the brujaria and oujias that would be one thing...But to do murals of monster movies, sculptures of them is FAR too similar than different. They came and saw our place first then did it. See if I had just arrived to town and they already had their museum up I would never in my wildest dreams do the Monster cafe as someone else basically had Classic Monsters covered. I would do another theme that had nothing to do with it. They saw my place yet still did a very similar theme. Then threw in other stuff so it wouldn't be a direct copy. I am sorry you cannot see that. I was here first. They shouldn't be having classic monsters in their place. It is inappropiate to tell you the truth. And I am not demanding on them. I am simply stating they copied me. There are thousands of themes to do museums on. You don't see me having a problem with the Museo del Sarapes do you? They could have chosen the Batman museum for crying out loud. But they picked Classic Monsters...That is a total blatant copy. Just because they throw a ouija board or a crystal ball in there doesn't take away from the monsters part of it. The owner said on my page they have a classic monsters section. So for you to say they do not is strange. I picked classic monsters. That is it. I want nothing to do with other stuff. It sounds like they are chile tomato cebolla. Just everything and anything that is dark. I stand by what I posted in my blog. There are too many similarities as I pointed out.
DeleteJust terrible.
ReplyDeleteYES IT IS JOHN...AS TONY SAID, IT IS IN VERY BAD TASTE THAT THEY DID THIS
DeleteWith all due respect,Hobby,everything derives from something.Maybe he got the idea from you,but neither are respectful owners of the Monster theme itself.Your just giving their place publicity with these posts and now out of curiosity,people may want to go there just to compare.
ReplyDeleteI know you love MU Tony....Now imagine you design a place about them. A cafe. You are so proud. You have success for 6 years. Then someone comes along in a pretty small town and does a museum based on the concept you did. How would you feel? They could have picked thousands of different themes but pick one that is already established because of your hardwork. I think you would be pissed off too.
DeleteThe fact that they did it in Saltillo as well ,assuming Saltillo is small,was in bad taste especially for you,the business owner.A monster lover and consumer would say the more the merrier.Just embrace it Hobby.Maybe good things will come of it.
ReplyDeleteI HAVE LET IT GO AFTER TODAY. THEY COPIED ME. NOW ALL OF SALTILLO KNOWS IT. I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM AS THEY ARE ALSO INVOLVED IN SPIRITISM AND WITCHCRAFT ETC. THEY HAVE QUIJA BOARDS THERE. I DON'T MESS WITH THAT STUFF. LET THEM DO THEIR OWN THING.
DeleteI just read this and I think it's terrible. I'm from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and I went to to your cafe with my boyfriend and his sister, like a year ago and we loved the concept. You don't have to change anything because of hateful people. And about the racist comments about you, I just have to say, Welcome to Mexico :(. Sadly, many Mexican are like it, and then, when people call us beaners or nopaleros, or someone make a racist joke about us, the all get mad. As a Mexican with brains, I would like to apologize for those uncivilized Monkeys. Embrace your work and don't ever let it fall because of copycats and jealous people. And don't change it to superheroes. There is already a Restaurant called Comix or something like that, and then people would start talking about how you copy to them so, keep it like that.
ReplyDeleteBe sure, my boyfriend, his sister and I will be back soon.
Thank you for your kind words. You will not believe this...But my wife and I went to the mall in Saltillo yesterday and sure enough there is a comix restaurant that opened up there in the last 3 months. ALSO they opened up 22 locations in 5 years in 2010. I opened Monster Cafe in 2008.
DeleteMuseum and Restaurant are WAY TOO DIFFERENT
ReplyDeleteYeah..one serves food and the other doesn´t...If you removed food from Monster Cafe what would it be? A frickin museum right?
Delete