The visitors of the San Diego Comic Con were probably quite surprised when they saw the restaurant ‘Cluckin’ Bell’ from Grand Theft Auto in real life last year. The restaurant only opened its doors for the comic convention and plans to be on-site again this year.
What kind of restaurant is it?
- The Cluckin’ Bell is a fast-food chain from the GTA series that first appeared in GTA San Andreas. You can even buy shares in the restaurant chain.
- Even in the latest installment GTA 5, the chicken-specialized restaurant provides us with all sorts of burgers, chicken wings, and other treats.
- The restaurant chain is a reference to Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
- The name is derived from “Fucking Hell”.
The restaurant is designed in yellow and red colors and has some bells hanging in the room, which have a rooster comb on them. The bell is also the logo of the fast-food chain. The employees wear a yellow T-shirt, yellow pants, and a rooster head with a hole for the face.
The restaurant chain called Smokin J’s BBQ wanted to recreate the restaurant almost 1:1 at the San Diego Comic Con and provided the convention visitors with chicken dishes. However, the replica not only drew the attention of the visitors but also of GTA owner Take-Two.
How the restaurant ultimately looked is shown to us by user KevClipz in a video on Twitter:
How was the project killed? Actually, the company wanted to open a replica of the restaurant at Comic Con in 2023 as well. However, Take-Two got wind of the matter and sent the responsible parties a cease and desist letter.
Take-Two demands that the fictional brands from the GTA series cannot be used for their own restaurants, even if they only open temporarily. The publisher probably does not appreciate it when other companies profit from their in-house brands.
However, the owners of the fake restaurant are not worried, as a representative of Smokin J’s BBQ explains. The responsible parties plan to simply change the name of the restaurant (via rockstarintel.com):
Last night we received a cease and desist letter from the law firm representing Take-Two Interactive. Consequently, we were forced to cancel the Burger Shot event planned for this weekend. We will still conduct an installation of the ‘Cluckin’ Bell’ type next weekend, but it will now be a parody called ‘Dont Cluckin Tell’.
The community is not happy that Take-Two wants to shut down the restaurant. Some users quote a line from GTA San Andreas, in which the NPC Big Smoke places a large order at Cluckin’ Bell. They are disappointed that they might not be able to enjoy the fast food any longer. (via twitter.com)
Others make fun of it with memes on Twitter, saying that Take-Two efficiently acts against other companies but cannot handle a hacker.
This refers to the incident where a lot of material about GTA 6 was leaked. Players were able to see early gameplay for the first time, which ironically also comes from a fast-food restaurant.
Everything about the incident can be found on MeinMMO:
Rockstar Games confirms major leak about GTA 6: ‘We are extremely disappointed’
