CLEVELAND, Ohio — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to issue a temporary restraining order barring a former partner in the popular Barrio Tacos chain from opening a similar restaurant in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko’s ruling means Joe Kahn is free to open a new Condado Tacos, his chain of design-your-own-taco restaurants that operate in Columbus and Cincinnati, in the Pinecrest development in Orange Village. A corresponding lawsuit will proceed.

The restaurant’s grand opening is still set for Thursday, said Kahn’s attorney Brad Barmen.

Barrio and its owners, longtime Cleveland developer Tommy Leneghan and Sean Fairbairn, asked the federal judge to issue an order preventing Kahn from opening the new Condado location.

The request stemmed from a lawsuit they filed in federal court in Cleveland in September, alleging that Kahn and others behind Condado stole trade secrets and violated an agreement Kahn entered into when he left the business partnership that created Barrio.

Barrio’s lawsuit says Condado – which also has locations in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis – copped the entire look and feel of Barrio, which has five locations in the Cleveland area and one in New Hampshire.

This includes the restaurant’s “Day of the Dead” theme and decorations and the design-your-own tacos checklist that patrons fill out and give to wait staff. Even the presentation of the tacos wrapped in foil and served in plastic baskets are identical, according to the suit.

Barrio claims this has created confusion with patrons who think the restaurants are affiliated with each other, which is exacerbated by Kahn noting in statements that he co-founded Barrio.

Condado attorneys argued that the agreement Kahn entered into allowed him to open a “build-your-own-taco” restaurant and that many of the designs that Barrio claimed were intellectual property were taken from other restaurants.

Boyko wrote that Barrio and its owners’ lawsuit is not likely to succeed as it is currently laid out.

The problem? Barrio’s look, feel, and even its name aren’t that distinct, the judge wrote.

He noted that other restaurants use the name “Barrio,” as well as the “Day of the Dead” theme.

Barrio also uses black-and-white color schemes in its restaurant, while the Condado in Pinecrest “uses brightly colored, cartoonish murals featuring a giant sun, a crowned female on a throne and various creatures,” Boyko wrote.

There are also differences with the types of tables and chairs.

“In short, the differences in the restaurant decor and style is stark and substantial such that there could be little likelihood of confusion based on the appearance of each store,” the judge wrote.

He also wrote that the packaging, ingredients, cutlery and menu style that Barrio uses are not unique to that restaurant and therefore not protected by federal trademark law.

An attorney for Barrio did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Barmen said he was pleased with the ruling.

“We will now turn to successfully opening Condado (in Pinecrest) and successfully defending what we believe are baseless allegations,” he said.

He added that there were talks last summer regarding Condado purchasing Barrio. Those talks didn’t go very far, and the lawsuit followed thereafter, Barmen said.

Click here to read the order on a mobile device.