Bun B has been accused of stealing a recipe from his former Trill Burger partners, siblings Patsy and Benson Vivares.
Per the Houston Chronicle, the siblings issued a counterclaim in January after the rapper and his two other partners—Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield—accused the pair of “misappropriating” nearly $45,000 in an August 2023 lawsuit.
The Vivares’ have denied all allegations and declared they were behind the original Trill Burger recipe and its name. The pair seek $1 million from Bun B, Scurfield, Nguyen, and Trill Burgers, LLC.
The counterclaim also alleged that Trill Burgers “poached” a chef from the siblings. “[The Vivares’] spent a lot of time and energy developing the recipe,” their attorney Saad Aziz told the Chronicle. “They are the ones who kind of came up with the specifics of the smashburger … now called the OG Trill Burger.”
Not only that, but the siblings have also accused Bun B of misusing funds to “buy an expensive car to promote the business.” However, the rapper clarified that the vehicle — a sedan — was a rental. Bun’s lawyer, Charles Adams, called the allegations “horrifying and offensive.”
Prior to joining this venture, the Vivares owned Sticky’s Chicken. In 2021, they partnered with Nguyen, who eventually brought Bun B and Scurfield on board. The company’s first pop-up event was at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Despite the event’s success, the siblings and other partners had a falling out. In June 2022, the partners requested that the pair forfeit their share of the business.