Restaurant named Obama Fried Chicken

[Breukelen advocaat]

April 4, 2009

Brooklyn Restaurantâ??s Name Hits a Sour Note

By KAREEM FAHIM

To the list of lofty names that glamorize the cityâ??s fried chicken stands, like Crown, Royal and Kennedy, one Brooklyn restaurant owner decided to add another: Obama.

From the restaurantâ??s perspective, the name change grew out of pride in the new president and a keen sense of commerce. From other perspectives, it was tone-deaf at best, and racist at worst. When the restaurant, Royal Fried Chicken on Rutland Road in Brownsville, changed its name last week to Obama Fried Chicken, the reaction was swift.

â??Community leaders came. They told us we have to change the name,â?� said Mohammad Jabbar, 33, the manager. â??They said if you donâ??t change it they will take action.â?�

It was the latest outbreak of commercial enthusiasm for President Obama and his family. An Illinois company tried to sell dolls that looked like the presidentâ??s daughters, and a Brooklyn brewery, Sixpoint Craft Ales, named a beer Hop Obama in honor of the community organizer in chief.

A few minutesâ?? drive from Obama Fried Chicken, Obama Beauty Supply opened its doors several months ago. Its owner, Mohammed Seraji, said he was inspired by his childrenâ??s enthusiasm for the president, along with Mr. Obamaâ??s popularity in the neighborhood. A Michelle Obama wig he sells, for $49.99, is emerging as a popular item.

A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said in an e-mail message, â??The White House has a longstanding policy of disapproving uses of the presidentâ??s name and likeness for commercial purposes.â?�

At the restaurant, Mr. Jabbar, who said he had been a lawyer and university instructor in his native Bangladesh before moving here in January, has, apart from serving food, become Obama Fried Chickenâ??s spokesman. The owner, he said, did not wish to speak to reporters.

Explaining the decision to rename the restaurant, Mr. Jabbar said that not only was the owner fond of President Obama but that the entire neighborhood also â??lovedâ?� him.

â??From this love, everything is happening,â?� Mr. Jabbar said, weary from all the attention.

There were support and derision for the unnamed owner along Rutland Road, where most every store hangs a picture of the president, and where, on a rainy Friday, passers-by took cellphone pictures of the rebranded fried chicken stand.

Chantel Harewood, 18, a college student who grew up in the neighborhood, ordered food from Mr. Jabbar and said she liked the new name. â??Why not? Itâ??s history,â?� she said. â??All these stereotypes. People got to relax.â?�

However, Mr. Jabbar said that the restaurant was bowing to the pressure, and that it would be renamed Popular Fried Chicken by the weekend. Ms. Harewood did not think much of the new name. â??Thatâ??s so blah, predictable, typical,â?� she said. The current name, she added, gave her â??pride.â?�

In the Au Monde Chic barbershop, where Mr. Obamaâ??s portrait hung on a back wall, Alnord Benoit cut a customerâ??s hair and called the name change â??disrespectful.â?�

â??Did he get permission from Obama?â?� Mr. Benoit asked.

In a nearby computer store, the manager, Earl Dennis, jokingly said he should rename his place Obamaâ??s Computer Store. â??Itâ??s publicity,â?� Mr. Dennis said. Of the chicken restaurant, he said, â??Iâ??m not eating there.â?�

Competition might have played some role in the new name. Crown Fried Chicken is across the street, owned by Osman Mohibi, 47, an Afghan immigrant. He keeps pictures of Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. taped to the plexiglass divider by the cash register.

Mr. Mohibi said his competitorâ??s misstep was winning new customers for Crown Fried Chicken. â??He used the name,â?� Mr. Mohibi said of the owner. â??He used black people.â?�

Kevin McCall, one of the community organizers who confronted Obama Fried Chickenâ??s owner, said he received calls from residents disturbed by the sign, and quickly contacted the owner to tell him it was â??very offensive to African-Americans.â?�

The owner told him it would be taken down the next day, Mr. McCall said. When it was not, he contacted the owner again. â??I said we would be out there having a rally,â?� Mr. McCall said.

City Councilman Charles Barron, who was also involved in the effort to change the name, said it was possible that the owner was simply trying to exploit the presidentâ??s name. â??Fried chicken, watermelon and minstrels are part of the racist stereotyping of black people in America,â?� he said. â??Itâ??s outrageous. You have to be sensitive and knowledgeable.â?�

At the store on Friday afternoon, Mr. Jabbar served ice cream to teenagers and chicken wings to regulars. He said he did not really understand the pressure to bring down the sign, since everyone who came in the store seemed to like the idea. And he was concerned about what would happen if the community advocates returned.

â??Iâ??m new to this country,â?� he said. â??I donâ??t really know what they could do.â?�

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/ny...l?ref=politics

Breukelen advocaat Reviewed by Breukelen advocaat on 04-04-2009. Restaurant named Obama Fried Chicken April 4, 2009 Brooklyn Restaurantâ??s Name Hits a Sour Note By KAREEM FAHIM To the list of lofty names that glamorize the cityâ??s fried chicken stands, like Crown, Royal and Kennedy, one Brooklyn restaurant owner decided to add another: Obama. From the restaurantâ??s perspective, the name change grew out of pride in the new president and a keen sense of commerce. From other perspectives, it was tone-deaf at best, and racist at worst. When the restaurant, Royal Fried Chicken on Rating: 5

[WiTeWaSh]

thats just to much... i would laugh if i saw that down the street...

but then again i know people who would eat their religiously just because of the name...

[JaggedEdge]

I don't see what the fuss is about. If they are changing the names of some public schools to include Obama's name why the hell can't someone name their chicken stand after him? Are we not allowed to use his name when it pokes fun at a stereotype?

[Breukelen advocaat]

A few years ago, there was a restaurant in Brooklyn called The Caucasian Cafe, in an area where a lot of Eastern European and Russian immigrants have settled. The name was referring to the Caucasus Mountains in Eurasia, in the Caucasus region. Being visible from a city bus route that passed it, that name didn't last long either.

[MadSativa]

Why are people pissed, Obama is a chicken

[Breukelen advocaat]

The owner has changed his mind and he name of the restauant is not going to be changed.

Obama Fried Chicken raises controversy


NEW YORK, April 8 (UPI) -- A New York restaurant has stirred controversy by refusing to change its controversial name: Obama Fried Chicken.

City Councilman Charles Barron, D-Brooklyn, was joined in protesting outside of the restaurant Monday with Rev. Al Sharpton and members of advocacy group Brooklyn East New York Crisis Team, Newsday reported Wednesday.

The protesters, who contend the name is racially charged, said manager Mohammad Jabbar reneged on a promise he made last week to change the name of the restaurant to Popular Fried Chicken.

"He is playing games," said Kevin McCall, head of Brooklyn East New York Crisis Team. "Just take down the sign."

Jabbar said the sign cost the restaurant thousands of dollars and he has no plans to change it.

"We are not changing the sign," he said. "Everyone is coming and saying they love the sign."

A White House spokesman said officials do not approve of using the president's name as an advertising gimmick.

[biostrength]

Why are people pissed, Obama is a chicken

hahaha