Chickie's & Pete's is an American bar and restaurant business privately owned and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It started as a small privately owned neighborhood taproom in 1977 and created a brand name as a seafood crab house that expanded from a single location to multiple locations within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. In 2011 ESPN voted Chickie's & Pete's the number one sports bar in the North America.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
Peter and Henrietta Ciarrocchi had owned a deli and in 1977 purchased a nearby small neighborhood taproom on Robbins Avenue, in the Mayfair section of northeast Philadelphia known as "Wally's". Peter made three changes by adding stools to the standing-only bar, lifting the "men only" rule, and naming the bar after himself and his wife, Henrietta, whom everyone called Chickie. When Peter died in 1987, it was Chickie who encouraged Peter's son, Pete Junior, to run with his own business ideas, his spin on crab seasoned fries, and whatever else he wanted to try. In 1998 Pete expanded the business by purchasing a run-down vacant supermarket building near Veterans Stadium within the Sports Complex Special Services District in Packer Park, South Philadelphia, to build upon the sports bar concept by locating near Philadelphia's sport venues.
Herr Foods Inc. and Chickie's and Pete's Crabfries Chips
In February 2016, due to unprecedented demand, Herr Foods Inc. announced the early release of its new Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries Seasoned Potato Chips. Combining two Philadelphia favorites - Herr's Chips and Chickie's & Pete's Famous Crabfries. Both highly recognized in the Philadelphia region, Ed Herr and Pete Ciarrocchi are excited to launch this venture.
Lawsuits
Chickie's and Pete's trademarked the phrase "crab fries" in 2007. The owner of the company, Pete Ciarrocchi, has been "passionate about defending that trademark." A federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2011, alleging that New York J & P Pizza in Westminster, Maryland was guilty of trademark infringement and unfair competition due to their use of the term "crab fries" on a 2007 online menu. A similar lawsuit was filed, also in 2011, against Crabby Fries in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Other restaurants, including Sidecar Bar & Grille in Philadelphia and another restaurant in Maryland, have voluntarily removed the offending terms rather than face a lawsuit.
Not every restaurant has agreed to discontinue their usage of this phrase. Crabby Fries is fighting the lawsuit threat by noting that they are 400 miles from Chickie's & Pete's primary market, and arguing that the terms 'crab' and 'fries' are too generic to be trademarked. In August 2012, during an out of court settlement through a mediator, Crabby Fries agreed to take "crabby fries" off their menu, but will operate under the name Crabby Fries for an undisclosed amount of time.
In February 2014, Chickie's & Pete's agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle both a Labor Department investigation and a lawsuit brought by current and former employees alleging wage and labor law violations. Ciarrocchi still has not apologized for stealing tips from nearly 1,200 of his employees, instead saying that he agreed to the massive settlement because "it was the right thing to do".
Locations
As of September 2011, Chickie & Petes had 10 Crab House and Sports Bar locations; multiple facilities at Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles Football team) and other venues provide a total of 37 sales sites.
Xfinity Live!, to be located at Philadelphia's Sport Complex, announced in December 2011 the development of a new food court and additional restaurants that would include a Chickie & Petes.
Miscellaneous
Pete Jr. in 2011 became part-owner of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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