Uh Oh: Restaurant Renames Itself 'Obama Fried Chicken'

Actually there are two places with some variation of the name, one in Brooklyn, the other in Harlem. Now racist NYC councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther, is outraged.

Obama posters. Obama T-shirts. But Obama fried chicken?

At least three city eateries have adopted President Barak Obama’s name to hock chicken nuggets and wings, leaving black leaders livid.

“It’s exploitative,” said Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), who is planning a protest outside Obama Fried Chicken restaurant Monday if its green awning is not removed. “It's like saying Obama is a watermelon lover.”

In addition to the Brownsville restaurant, a Harlem chicken shop changed the wording on its red awning from Kennedy Fried Chicken to Obama Fried Chicken & Pizza.

And you hear the name “Obama’s” if you call up a Crown Heights restaurant now named Obama Flavor Caribbean Soul Food.

“Our president is a great person,” said Mohammad Jabbar, manager of the Brownsville chicken joint. “So many people encouraged us to use this name.”

Obama’s popularity has inspired a flurry of questionable marketing gimmicks — from presidential thongs to “Yes We Can” perfume.

But the government doesn’t always laugh along. Just before election day, the feds ruled that Sixpoint Craft Ales in Brooklyn had no right to dispense its Hop Obama draft because doing so violated certain alcohol sales rules, according to reports.

A restaurant, though, doesn’t need permission to use Obama’s name, unless they want a federal trademark, said Cynthia Lynch, an administrator for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The White House did not return a call for comment. And owners of the Harlem and Crown Heights restaurants could not be reached.

Cherise TrahanMiller, director of the Ashay Media Group in downtown Brooklyn, said the eatery owners used smart marketing tactics. “There is an opportunity to cash in on a name that has a lot of momentum,” she said.

For some, the use of the president’s name is a point of pride.

“I liked it even better when I saw the name change,” Tarik White, 16, said outside the Brownsville restaurant. “It is showing respect (to have) Obama’s name in the community.”

But Dennise Green, of Harlem, had a completely opposite take.

“It’s offensive,” said Green, 50. “It’s saying that black people always eat a lot of fried food.”

Wait until they find out about Obama Fingers.

By the way, the folks at AM NY might want to learn how to spell Barack.