The latest battle in the Sriracha Wars is on, and it’s already red hot. So let’s recap.
Back in 2013, the City of Irwindale sued popular hot sauce maker Huy Fong Foods because the sauce it was making was super smelly and bothering a bunch of people in the neighborhood.
Ok, well maybe just a few.
With the company threatening to bail for Texas, the city eventually decided to drop the suit. The two parties came to a mutual agreement that included installing some heavy duty fans, and all seemed to be right with the world again. But the drama wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Last month, the city sued Huy Fong Foods again, this time for $427,086.76 in unpaid fees, which it had agreed to pay in lieu of taxes back in 2010. We covered it here. The company all but admitted to the allegations, implying it was punishment for the whole smelly sauce fiasco.
Now fast-forward to Jul. 12. The company filed a countersuit against the city (have we lost you yet?), basically accusing it of acting like an obsessive ex-boyfriend. Irwindale has embarked on a “campaign of harassment,” the company claims, and now it wants $750,000 in fees back for its troubles.
Look, guys, we love you both. But this is just getting ridiculous.
Image Credit: Flickr User the_photographer, https://flic.kr/p/oSHMf3 via (CC BY 2.0)