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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1977; 48 years ago (1977) |
| Founder | Peter & Henrietta Ciarrocchi |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Number of locations | 19 (as of August 14, 2017) |
Key people | Pete Ciarrocchi (president) |
| Products | Crabs, lobster, seafood, American food, beer and liquor |
| Services | Food and Beverage |
| Revenue | Multi-million dollars (2011) |
| Owner | Pete Ciarrocchi[1] |
| Website | chickiesandpetes |
Chickie’s & Pete’s is an Americanbar andrestaurant business privately owned and headquartered inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. It started as a small privately owned neighborhoodtaproom in 1977, and created abrand name as aseafood crab house that expanded from a single location to multiple locations within thePhiladelphia Metropolitan Area. In 2011,ESPN voted Chickie's & Pete's the number onesports bar inNorth America.[2]
Peter and Henrietta Ciarrocchi owned a deli, and in 1977, purchased a nearby small neighborhood taproom on Robbins Avenue, in the Mayfair section of northeastPhiladelphia 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 nearVeterans Stadium within theSports Complex Special Services District inPacker Park inSouth Philadelphia to build upon the sports bar concept by locating near Philadelphia's sport venues.
In February 2016,Herr's released Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries seasonedpotato chips.
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 inWestminster, 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 inKill 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]
As of 2023, Chickie & Pete's maintains seven locations inPhiladelphia and itsPennsylvania andSouth Jersey suburbs, including:
In 2011, Pete Jr. became part-owner of thePhiladelphia Soul arena football team.[12]
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