Unofficial GTA-themed pop-up restaurant shut down by Take-Two Interactive
The organizer of an unofficial GTA-themed restaurant has received a cease and desist letter from Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive.
As reported by GTA fansite Rockstar Intel, US food company Smokin' J's BBQ has had to change its plans for a second GTA-themed event at San Diego Comic-Con this year. During last year's event, the organizer opened its very own Cluckin' Bell (a fast food restaurant found in multiple GTA games) and this year planned to take things even further by also opening a Burger Shot restaurant. That is, until Take-Two got wind of it.
According to a statement provided to the outlet above from the organizer, Smokin' J's BBQ has "been forced" to scrap the Burger Shot event after receiving "a cease and desist letter from the law firm representing Take-Two Interactive." All is not lost though, as the team is "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'" - so a spoof of a spoof restaurant?
If you didn't see the event from last year, it was essentially just a way of Smokin' J's BBQ attracting the Comic-Con crowds as it dressed its restaurant up with GTA details. Everything from temporary signs, a themed menu (that includes Sprunk), and even a poster of the GTA 5 protagonist Trevor Philips beside a 'Do Not Serve' warning. Since it seems Rockstar/Take-Two never gave its permission for the use of its license, the real-life Cluckin' Bell was just a one-time thing.
Reporting live from a literal Cluckin’ Bell right now #GTAV #GTAOnline pic.twitter.com/r5M3C5Mk9TJuly 24, 2022
Despite now needing to be re-branded, the original plan for the real-life Burger Shot (another fictional eatery in the GTA
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