Did Chickie’s & Pete’s Get Pat Croce to Change the Menu at His Key West Restaurant?

Chickie’s & Pete’s—per a recent, confidential out-of-court settlement—will allow “Crabby Fries” in Kill Devil Kills in the Outer Banks to keep its name. Pete Ciarrocchi, of Chickie’s and Pete’s fame, has the term “Crab Fries” officially trademarked, which means he’s expected to defend his exclusive use of the term in court, including in the case of the Outer Banks restaurant that opened in 2010. Ciarrocchi’s crusade to maintain his exclusive use of the term, though, has angered some. There’s a website—crab-fries.com—that calls out Ciarocchi for his legal goings on and even urged him to file a lawsuit against everyone’s favorite pirate enthusiast Pat Croce. Croce owns Rum Barrel—a restaurant in Key West next door to The Pirate Museum. The joint used to have “Crabby Fries” on the menu. In February, the folks behind crab-fries.com urged Ciarrocchi to sue Croce over the issue. Now, though, the Rum Barrel menu lists the same item as “Island Fries.” [Philly.com]