Chickie's & Pete's

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 North America.[2]

Chickie's & Pete's
TypePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
Founded1977 (1977)
FounderPeter & Henrietta Ciarrocchi
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Number of locations
19 (as of August,14 2017)
Key people
Pete Ciarrocchi, President
ProductsCrabs, lobster, seafood, American food, beer and liquor
ServicesFood and Beverage
RevenueMulti-million dollars (2011)
OwnerPete Ciarrocchi[1]
Websitechickiesandpetes.com

History

Peter and Henrietta Ciarrocchi 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.[3]

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.[3] 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.

In February 2016, Herr Foods Inc. released Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries Seasoned Potato Chips.

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.”[4]

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.[5] A similar lawsuit was filed, also in 2011, against Crabby Fries in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.[6] Other restaurants, including Sidecar Bar & Grille in Philadelphia and another restaurant in Maryland, have voluntarily removed the offending terms rather than face a lawsuit.[4]

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.[7][8] 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.[9][10]

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 said that he agreed to the massive settlement because "it was the right thing to do". [11]

Locations

As of March 2019, Chickie & Petes had 19 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.[12]

Xfinity Live!, 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

In 2011, Pete Jr. became part-owner of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team.[13]

References
  1. "Company Overview of Chickie's and Pete's, Inc". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. Metro Newspaper Philadelphia 08/31/2011 Archived April 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Characters: Pete! | Philadelphia Magazine Articles". Phillymag.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  4. Michael Klein, Philly.com (2011-10-28). "Chickie's & Pete's sues over 'Maryland Crab Fries'". Philly.com. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2011-12-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Crabby Fries feeling pinch of trademark dispute « The Outer Banks Voice". Outerbanksvoice.com. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  7. Ham, David. "Outer Banks eatery fighting for Crabby Fries". abc13wvec. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  8. Van Allen, Peter (12 December 2011). "Chickie's & Pete's too crabby about fries trademark?". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  9. "Trademark suit settled, Crabby Fries keeps name « The Outer Banks Voice". Outerbanksvoice.com. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  10. "Chickie's & Pete's deal: N.C. to keep its Crabby Fries - Philadelphia Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  11. "Chickie's & Pete's Tips Lawsuit Settlement Announced". Philadelphia Magazine. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  12. Joseph N. DiStefano (2011-09-02). "Chickie's and Pete's adds Philly Live, Airport, burb sites". Philly.com. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  13. George, John (7 January 2011). "Chickie's & Pete's Ciarrocchi cooks as an owner of Soul". bizjournals.com. Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
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