Krusty Krab

The Krusty Krab's menu, the Galley Grub, consists mostly of ordinary fast food items, such as french fries and sodas. Its signature sandwich, the Krabby Patty, is celebrated, to a comic degree, by the citizens of Bikini Bottom. In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Mr. Krabs states: "The Krabby Patty is what ties us all together! Without it, there will be a complete breakdown of social order!"[11] The sandwich comprises two buns, with the patty, lettuce, cheese, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and pickles between them (in that order).[12] The recipe of the patty is a closely guarded trade secret, which have led viewers to speculate about its contents.[13][14] Several fan theories have been formed to guess the secret ingredient.[15][16]

According to animator Vincent Waller, "there is absolutely no meat in the Krabby Patty. There's no animal product in there", something which was always planned by series creator Stephen Hillenburg.[17] Mr. Lawrence, a show writer and Plankton's voice actor, explained that the show's writers are not allowed to depict fish as food; he stated that there is no meat served in Bikini Bottom except at the Chum Bucket.[18] Tom Kenny, the voice actor for SpongeBob, joked: "Krabby Patties are hummus!"[18] Some commentators suggest that there is actually no secret ingredient, pointing to Mr. Krabs' miserliness. A writer for Hollywood.com believes that it is "all a ruse that crafty Mr. Krabs came up with in order to stop Plankton from focusing on [t]he Chum Bucket. It's legitimately brilliant marketing!"[19] On the possibility that the secret Krabby Patty formula will be revealed in future episodes, Waller said in 2017 that he "would not count on it".[20] In 2019, Waller stated that Hillenburg, who died in 2018, is the only person to have seen it.[21]

The Krusty Krab has been recognized by numerous publications—including BuzzFeed,[35] the New York Daily News,[36] Screen Rant,[37] and food website The Daily Meal[38]—as a restaurant they wished were real. Similarly, as stated in Boston.com, "Sure, we can get crab cakes, but we wish we could try the Krusty Krab's signature sandwich, the Krabby Patties. If only we could get a suit like Sandy's and journey to Bikini Bottom".[39] In another list published by The Daily Meal, the Krusty Krab was voted number one of "all the fictional spots currently on TV that our readers wished they could dine at".[40] In 2016, Time magazine listed the Krusty Krab as one of the 18 most influential fictional companies.[41]

External images
View of the exterior of Salta Burgers' real-life Krusty Krab replica in Ramallah
Scene inside the building with tables, chairs, cash register booth, and other detailing similar to those of the television series.

The Krusty Krab has inspired several real-life establishments unaffiliated with Nickelodeon or its parent company, Viacom. In Santa Elena, Costa Rica, a restaurant called the Krusty Krab opened in 2012 but closed a year later.[42] In Ramallah, West Bank, a company called Salta Burgers constructed a real-life Krusty Krab,[43][44] which received online attention.[45] It opened on July 24, 2014,[46] serving seafood and its own version of the Krabby Patty;[42][44][47] The restaurant was in operation as of 2017,[48] but was shut down by 2019.[49] Some commentators, like in the Houston Press noted of these foreign imitations that "The long arm of U.S. trademark law doesn't reach across international waters. Every country has its own filing process that must be followed".[50] In Moscow, a Krusty Krab-themed restaurant called The Krusty Krab Cafe opened in 2016 and also makes unofficial Krabby Patties.[51] In Davao City, Philippines, a coffee shop opened in 2017 and sells Krabby Patty-inspired sandwiches; it was named KrustyKrub Cafe because the son of its husband-and-wife owners is a fan of the show.[52]

In January 2016, Viacom sued IJR Capital Investments after learning that it had applied to trademark the Krusty Krab name at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in December 2014.[53] The latter was planning to open two restaurants adopting the moniker in Houston and Los Angeles.[23] In the lawsuit, Viacom claimed that the proposed restaurants would be an infringement, even though Viacom had not filed a formal trademark for the Krusty Krab name.[54] IJR owner, Javier Ramos Jr. claimed he thought of the name, referring to "the crust that sticks to the top of crabs when they are put in a seafood boil".[23] He claimed not to have heard of the Krusty Krab in SpongeBob SquarePants, and that he chose it after checking Google and finding no restaurants using that name.[55] While the USPTO approved IJR's trademark application,[53][23] a Texas federal judge ruled in January 2017 that IJR violated Viacom's rights to the SpongeBob property,[53][56][57] citing "ownership of a trademark is established by use, not by registration".[53] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided in May 2018 that Viacom deserves trademark protection for the Krusty Krab, and that IJR cannot use it.[23][55]

Nickelodeon's Krusty Krab replica at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of SpongeBob, Nickelodeon recreated the Krusty Krab building at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.[58][59] Inside, attendees could play an interactive game in which they must complete food orders before running out of time.[60][61] It was part of Nickelodeon's 1,800-square-foot (170 m²) booth[60] at the event, which was dedicated to the show.[58] It featured real-life replicas of Mrs. Puff's Boating School and the Chum Bucket, which stood 22 feet (6.7 m) tall and allowed attendees to buy collectibles and have autographs from the show's cast members.[60][61] The Los Angeles Times reported that the Bikini Bottom setup "drew hundreds of nostalgic fans" on the first day of the convention.[62] Adweek named it among its ten "Favorite TV-Themed Activations at Comic-Con 2019".[63]

• Beck, Jerry (2013). The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive Into the World of Bikini Bottom. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-60887-184-1.