GTA IRL Cluckin' Bell restaurant shut down by Rockstar lawyers

Well, I don’t think anyone will be too shocked by this one. The real-life Cluckin’ Bell restaurant is no more. Unfortunately, the fan-made creation has been shut down after Take-Two Interactive lawyers issued a cease and desist letter.

The IRL Cluckin’ Bell first opened up at last year’s San Diego Comic Con. As I’m sure you’re aware, Cluckin’ Bell is an in-game fast food chain first seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It’s essentially a parody of restaurants like Chick-fil-A or KFC. The SDCC edition was set up by company Smokin J and content creator BoyWorldWide who called the pop-up restaurant a four-day “art performance” and “immersive experience”. The branding was just as you see it in the game, and employees donned yellow uniforms and chicken hats. Well, the experience was set to return at this year’s SDCC, but that’s no longer the case.

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As reported by GGRecon, Cluckin’ Bell was due to return to Comic Con once again this year with a newly expanded experience. The team teased the addition of “Burger Shot Stallion toy cars and uniforms”. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, caught on to Cluckin’ Bell’s runaway social media success though and issued the company a cease and desist letter.

The team behind Cluckin’ Bell, Smokin J, wrote in a letter to RockstarINTEL, “Last Night, we received a cease and desist letter from the law firm representing Take-Two Interactive. 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 Don't Cluckin' Tell.”

Co-owner Josh George said, “We're looking forward to welcoming all GTA-lovers, Comic-Con visitors, and local San Diegoians at these events to enjoy delicious food, drinks, and a truly unique video game-inspired experience.” It’ll be interesting to see just how similar Don’t Cluckin’ Tell is.