WLOX-TV and WLOX.com - The News for South MississippiChick-Fil-A threatens to sue Ocean Springs bar

Chick-Fil-A threatens to sue Ocean Springs bar

By Krystal Allan - bio | email

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) - It wasn't quite the attention Kris Kwitzky expected to get for a phrase printed on a t-shirt.  Three words, "Eat More Beer," prompted Chick-Fil-A to threaten suit against his bar, according to Kwitzky.  

The company said the slogan bared a close resemblance to the fast-food chain's slogan, "Eat Mor Chikin." But Kwitzky questioned the letter he received. After all, he said he's just a small town bar owner. Plus, he actually spelled the words correctly in his slogan. With all the popularity over his shirts, Kwitzky thought maybe someone was trying to get one over on him.

"I thought it was a joke," Kwitzky said. "I thought it was one of my many friends that come in this bar with the shirts on just sending me something to ruffle my feathers a little bit. Oooh, I better not use the word feathers." 

He decided to call his lawyer just to be safe and soon realized it was in fact the real deal. He had to stop selling the shirts or face a possible lawsuit.  But, Kwitzky had a bit of a problem.

"I had ordered like 500 shirts prior to this whole thing starting, and I didn't want to have to eat all these shirts."

Kwitzky bought the shirts, in large part, to sell at the Peter Anderson Festival this coming weekend, a big money-maker for Ocean Spring businesses.

Initially, Chick-Fil-A said he could sell the shirts through August. But his lawyer countered, asking if they could be sold through this coming weekend.

"They were nice enough. They let me do that," Kwitzky said.

Kwitzky said this could be a case of the big guy picking on the little guy or a possible conflict with the company's values. Chick-Fil-A prides itself on having Christian core values; thus, he said it might not want a bar with a slogan similar to theirs.

"I sell booze for a living and they don't, and I think the core is that.  But, I don't know," Kwitzky said.

Regardless, one thing's for sure, "Eat More Beer" will no longer be for sale after this coming Sunday.

"It would be a super nice thing to get rid of all these t-shirt. Otherwise, I'm going to be giving them to my friends so I don't get in any trouble from the chicken people."

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