Kanye West threatens legal action against Melbourne burger store

A Melbourne burger shop inspired by Kanye West has been forced to undergo a thorough redesign after the rapper threatened to take legal action against it.

College Dropout Burgers, which opened in on Upper Heidelberg Road in Heidelberg in Melbourne's north-east in May 2021, is named after West's debut album and sells burgers named after West's songs.

West's album artwork is the shop's logo and a mural of West was painted inside the store.

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However, owner Mark Elkhouri received a cease and desist letter from the rapper's lawyers earlier this month.

He has since announced on the shop's Instagram page that "all references to Ye (FKA Kanye West)" will be removed from the store "following the instructions and concerns from Ye, Mascotte Holdings Inc. along with his legal representatives".

Elkhouri said the store's management team was withdrawing its crowned bear logo, change the burger names and remove all artwork in the store.

"We will continue to be inspired by and support Ye, just not publicly," he wrote on Instagram.

Elkhouri has told 3AW he is disappointed by West's actions.

"The whole idea or the whole concept was to kind of celebrate Kanye West and show a different side of his music, and artwork and fashion line," he said.

"This is the guy that I kind of get my creative inspiration from."

"Anyone that is a fan of Kanye West and his music would kind of understand he actually does seek inspiration from other artists.

"So I was kind of like 'OK, well I don't sing, I don't rap, what I do is kind of like another form of art, and I believe it's modern-day art, which is food'."