Downtown College Park may not have seen the last of Cluck-U Chicken.
The chicken establishment shut down Oct. 22, but plans are in the works for the chain to reopen with new management after the previous managers failed to follow the franchise’s standards, said Richard Daniels, the lawyer working on behalf of Cluck-U Corp.
Cluck-U Corp., which has 20 other locations in the Mid-Atlantic region, terminated its franchise agreement more than a year ago with its nearly two-decades-old Route 1 location — which some students revered as a reliable late-night eatery — by asking the restaurant to cease using the Cluck-U name, Daniels said.
The store officially shut down last month after Curtis Management — the company that owns the strip from Cluck-U to Bagel Place — evicted the restaurant for not paying rent for almost six months, a property manager at Curtis Management said.
But because the managers did not comply with the corporation, they now face even more consequences: a lawsuit.
“There are certain rules you have to follow,” Daniels said.
New management not approved by Cluck-U Corp. took over the establishment in 2005, Daniels said, and neglected to follow company policy.
“They were not following the rules and regulations of the franchisor, Cluck-U Corp.,” Daniels said, which include using the correct chicken recipe and buying from the corporation’s selected food suppliers.
A court date has not yet been set because the defendants — the management since 2005 — have not responded to the lawsuit, Daniels said.
And since there has been no response, Cluck-U Corp. has filed a motion for judgment by default, meaning the court will automatically rule in the corporation’s favor if representatives show up to court and provide ample evidence supporting their claim. This process will take at least a month or two, Daniels said.
In the meantime, Cluck-U Corp. is shopping around for a new franchise space on Route 1, Daniels said, but they haven’t decided whether they will re-inhabit their old location or open up shop elsewhere in the city.
“They intend to come back into College Park but be improved — open the store with the qualities that it had before,” Daniels said.
Several students agreed the store was in dramatic need of an overhaul. Senior communication major Shani Lewis only visited the establishment once but said she was not interested in returning unless there was improvement.
“It was completely disgusting inside. … I thought I was going to throw up in there. It just smelt awful,” she said. “Beforehand, I wouldn’t have suggested anyone go inside — and not even to pee.”
But Lewis said she liked the idea of reclaiming this downtown staple, because once businesses leave the city, most do not come back.
“We just keep losing places left and right,” she said.
As for a new opening date, Daniels could not offer a concrete estimate.
“As soon as possible,” he said. “Negotiations like this do take a little bit of time.”
roubein at umdbk dot com
