How a Charlotte attorney found himself at the center of viral food trend dispute
A dispute over a viral “tendernism” barbecue trend has exploded, and a Charlotte attorney on a mission to preserve African-American content creators’ rights is in the thick of the fray that’s getting nationwide attention.
Black Enterprise explained the origin of the conflict like this: A man named Walter Johnson — also known as Unc and Mr. Tendernism — worked for Murrieta, California’s Destination Smokehouse restaurant. He went viral after coining the term “tendernism,” (meaning meat so tender that “you don’t need no teeth” to eat it).
Eye-catching social media videos show Johnson — and the many food influencers who joined him — showcasing ribs, oxtail and other smoked meats sliding right off the bone, and brisket falling apart as it’s held mid-air.
“His popularity grew even further after attention from large creators such as Jordan Howlett and food critic Keith Lee, who traveled to the restaurant specifically to meet the man behind the movement,” Black Enterprise’s Caleb L. Green reported.
Even business magazine Forbes — usually not on the cutting edge of cultural trend coverage — noticed that “‘Tenderism’ Took Over TikTok In 2025.”
What went wrong?
But things went sour as the spotlight continued to grow, and Johnson and Destination Smokehouse split ways in late February.
Even the facts on that are in dispute: A GoFundMe page supporting Johnson claims he was ultimately fired, while Destination Smokehouse owner Nick Yepremian countered in his own video that “Walter was never asked to leave” and “today, I’m proud of Walter for having the courage to go after his own dreams.”
What is clear, however, is that Walter is launching a food truck with plans to travel from city to city, and there are now seven filings with the U.S. Trademark Office seeking the rights to trademarks for “Tendernism” and “Mr. Tendernism”.
And that’s where Charlotte attorney Ken Harris enters the story.
A Charlotte attorney steps in
Harris, a Charlotte attorney with experience in trademark and patent law, had watched Johnson’s success from afar and wanted to help.
“I just thought it was important that the African-American community retain its ownership interest in the things that we create,” Harris told CharlotteFive.
Destination Smokehouse, which claims it is the rightful owner of the “tendernism” term, filed two U.S. Trademark Office applications under the name Diamond Smokehouse Enterprises, Inc., on Dec. 6, 2025.
But shortly before Destination Smokehouse had filed that trademark application, Harris had made a move on his own. He filed two U.S. Trademark Office applications for the term on Nov. 21.
California-based business consulting company Trelmage LLC followed Destination Smokehouse, also filing two U.S. Trademark Office applications to trademark the term March 8. And on Feb. 22, yet another application came along — this time from Connie Simmons, seeking the use of “Mr. Tendernism” for business consulting services.
Each of the seven requests are still pending. But Harris’ applications were filed first, before he was even able to reach Johnson.
“I did it with the goal of working with Walter Johnson. As you know, everybody refers to him as Unc, and I was hoping to get to him, and it took a little while to get to him,” Harris said.
“I was concerned that we might be in a situation where, if it was not pursued properly from the intellectual property standpoint, that we might lose it for the African-American community as a whole — and that’s been the issue,” Harris explained.
“We have creators in the African-American community who invent things and create things, but unfortunately, don’t retain the intellectual property that goes along with those inventions.”
Now, as the situation moves forward, and Johnson — the “tendernism original” — wades out on his own, Harris said he’s working with Johnson and his business manager, Joe White. More than $83,000 has poured into the GoFundMe targeted to “bring ‘Tendernism’ back on his terms.”
“I’m really excited, but most importantly just happy to see an African-American creator really get his due for a change. I think the world has really opened up to him,” Harris said.
“There’s just a lot of exciting projects that he’s going to be working on. So I’m just really proud to have any affiliation with him and what he’s created.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
