and Germany, Wright says each has its own unique flavor. Hamburger Mary’s began to increasingly focus on entertainment as the franchise expanded in the 1990s and 2000s, seeking to become an LGBTQ+ destination both for tourists and locals.
When Jones passed away due to complications from HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, his surviving partner was forced to forfeit all rights to the Hamburger Mary’s name and branding in a lawsuit, as reported by the travel blog Broke-Ass Stuart in ' The Secret, Saucy History of the Original Hamburger Mary's.' The budding franchise split in two in 1978, when Tom “Toulouse” Mulvey assumed control of the San Francisco locale, while Jerry “Trixie” Jones manned a second location in Honolulu. Today’s locations are related to the original in name only. The restaurant, thus, suggested an answer to that age-old question: “I’m going to Mary’s.” “It was like when you talk to your friends and you say, ‘Hey, Mary, what are you doing tonight?’” Wright explains.
