This Delco Chef Says Guy Fieri Screwed Him Over
So Kevin Cooper is taking the chicken guy to court.
Drexel Hill chef Kevin Cooper, who has filed a lawsuit against the companies associated with Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy franchise over Cooper’s shuttered King of Prussia location (photo courtesy Food Network)
“I’m feeling amazing,” Drexel Hill chef Kevin Cooper told 6ABC’s Alicia Vitarelli back on February 7, 2024, the day before Cooper opened his franchise location of the Guy Fieri restaurant Chicken Guy at the King of Prussia Mall. “I feel ready. I feel like we’re ready to get this thing up and poppin’. Philly is ready to turn up!” Well, it’s now 2025, and it’s fair to say that Cooper isn’t feeling so amazing about Guy Fieri or Chicken Guy these days.
In 2021, Cooper competed on Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime, a Food Network show hosted by Guy Fieri that pitted chefs against each other in tasks like frying chicken, operating a pop-up, and developing a new milkshake. After six episodes, Fieri declared Cooper the winner.
As winner, Cooper says he was supposed to receive the following: his own Chicken Guy franchise with franchise fees waived; assistance with the build-out of the space for the franchise; any operational expenses after the first year that exceeded the revenue of that first year; $10,000 to be applied to any necessary legal expenses; and a guaranteed minimum salary for the first year of $100,000.
Cooper finally opened Chicken Guy at the King of Prussia Mall on February 8, 2024. People took selfies with a Guy Fieri cardboard cutout and raved about the chicken sandwiches. Just over a year later, on February 23, 2025, Cooper closed Chicken Guy. It’s unclear exactly why.
Now, Cooper is taking Guy Fieri and associated companies to court. Cooper has filed a federal lawsuit in Philadelphia against Chicken Guy LLC and Earl Enterprises LLC. He alleges that the defendants never paid him the $100,000 minimum salary despite numerous requests for it and that they likewise failed to cover the operational expenses that exceeded revenue during the first year. According to the lawsuit, those expenses total close to $69,000 and include close to $39,000 in Pennsylvania sales tax alone.
The suit accuses the defendants of breach of contract and asks for a judgment totaling the minimum salary and expenses. A spokesperson for Fieri didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
With the closures of Chicken Guy at KOP, Guy Fieri’s Restaurant & Bar at Harrah’s in Chester, and Guy’s Taco Joint at Live Casino in South Philadelphia, that leaves just one Guy Fieri operation in the region: the tiny Chicken Guy stand at Resorts in Atlantic City. Maybe Philly is trying to tell you something, Guy?
