Rockstar Games has shut down a real life version of the Cluckin Bell restaurant from Grand Theft Auto. The Grand Theft Auto series is known for creating an incredible satire of the United States. Every city is an alternate version of a real life city and features parodies of celebrities, brands, and so on. However, Rockstar has arguably done too good of a job as they’ve had people wanting to drink and eat some of the real products in their games. Despite the massive commercial success of the series, Rockstar has never really attempted anything like this. At most, you can get some clothing and merchandise based on these things, but that’s about it.
A different group tried to capitalize on this last year by making their own restaurant themed around Cluckin Bell. They had Sprunk (a parody of Sprite), employees dressed in the signature yellow uniforms and chicken hats, and much more. It checked all the boxes and it brought in a lot of business thanks to the fact they did this during San Diego Comic-Con and were able to attract in all the attendees/tourists. It garnered a lot of attention on social media, but it was short lived, so they were able to avoid any legal drama. However, Smokin’ J’s BBQ and boyworldwide announced they’d be back again this year with both Cluckin Bell and GTA’s other big fast food joint, Burger Shot. As reported by RockstarIntel, that will no longer be moving forward as Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive, sent a cease and desist to the restaurant.
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“Last Night, we received a cease and desist letter from the law firm representing Take-Two Interactive,” read an email from Smokin J’s BBQ to RockstarIntel. “In response, we have been forced to scrap the Burger Shot event that was planned for this weekend. (At Comic Con) We are still doing a Cluckin’ Bell type installation next weekend, however it is now going to be a spoof installation branded as Dont Cluckin Tell.”
At least it sounds like they’ve been able to salvage some piece of the installation by slightly rebranding. Fans are a bit bummed by this news, but it’s understandable why Take-Two would be against this. If someone got sick or worse from the food, it would reflect badly on Take-Two, despite the fact they’re not affiliated with the establishment. Headlines about someone getting sick from a GTA-themed restaurant is bad PR and Take-Two likely doesn’t want people to make money off of their copyrighted material.
Did you get to try the real life Cluckin Bell last year? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
